Themba

isiZulu for "power" or "strength", also the rallying cry ("Amandla!") of the South African anti-apartheid movement.

From anda ("increase, multiply"): "they have increased" — the family has grown with this birth. Used for boys and girls.

From anda ("increase, multiply"), present tense: "they are increasing" — the family keeps growing. The counterpart of Andile. Used for boys and girls.

From bonga ("thank, praise"): "be thankful" / "give thanks." A name of gratitude for the birth.

From jabula ("rejoice, be glad"): "rejoice" / "be happy."

From ilungelo ("a right, an entitlement"): "a right." A name from the language of dignity and justice.

From ulwazi ("knowledge"): "knowledge."

Zulu for "strength, power" — the singular of amandla (the plural form is the 0036 entry Amandla). Shortened forms include Mandlakhe, Mandlenkosi in compounds.

From inkosi ("king, chief") + the diminutive -ana: "prince" / "little chief." Also a term of endearment for a first son.

From inkosi ("king, chief") + the feminine diminutive -azana: "princess." The female counterpart of Nkosana.

isiZulu for "freedom".

isiZulu for "beauty".

From the feminine name-former Nom- ("mother of") + umusa ("grace, kindness, mercy"): "mother of grace." Also Nomsa.

From Nom- ("mother of") + imvula ("rain"): "mother of rain" — given to a girl born while it was raining.

From anela ("be enough, be satisfied"): "we have enough" / "we are satisfied" — a family saying this child completes it.

From busisa ("to bless"): "a blessing." Shortened to Sbu.

From fisa ("to wish, desire"): "a wish" — what the family had wished for. Also spelled Sfiso.

isiZulu for "gift".

From thanda ("to love"): "loved" / "lovable" / "beloved."

From -hle ("good, beautiful"): "(the girls) are beautiful" / "they are good" — izintombi zinhle. A name affirming daughters.

Tamazight for "star". Amazigh names are frequently ordinary nouns used directly as personal names, rather than a separate naming vocabulary.

From "alem" (the world) and "ayehu" (I have seen): in use, understood to mean "I have enjoyed life".

Amharic for "majesty, dignity, honour".

Fulfulde for "beloved", from the root "yiɗi" (to love) plus a suffix marking the human agent of the action.

Kikuyu for "the reincarnated one", traditionally given when a child is believed to carry the spirit of a deceased relative.

"The one who returns" — the male counterpart to Njoki, in the same reincarnation-naming tradition as the existing Kariuki: given when a child is believed to carry back a departed relative's spirit, often a grandfather's name passed to a grandson.

From Dholuo "luoch" (mist).

Maa for "the polite one".