I hear what you all saying and I know I'm not very clued up on history but I know that we were never slaves here, so we couldn't have taken our master's surnames or even the month in which we were bought as our surnames. This is due in part to officials imposing surnames on them based on their last owners. This is because most slaves worked on plantations owned by settlers from England or Scotland, growing cotton or tobacco in the New World.. That line of ancestry was cut by the institution of chattel slavery, which sought to dehumanize the enslaved by taking away their dignity, their children, and even their names. The names are often derived from patronymics, which means coming from the paternal line, or they could be derived from their occupation, a nickname, or place they lived. Khumalo (Ndebele origin) meaning "descendant of the fish tribe". 62. Some South African names are given based on some things surrounding the birth of a child. Abioye (Yoruba origin) meaning "son of royalty". Life expectancy at birth for 2019 is estimated at 61, 5 years for males and 67, 7 years for females. Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. Dlamini (Etswana origin) meaning "royalty". Bankole (Yoruba origin) meaning "build my house for me". 70. Goosen. 88. Here is a list of common South African names that have a rich history and lineage. A patronymic surname a last name originated from the father or a patrilineal ancestor is passed down through the family lines and, has carried significant meaning for the past 1000 years. In anticipation of National Archives Awareness Week, we have taken a closer look at the 10 most common surnames in the Western Cape. Olantungi (Yoruba origin) meaning "wealth wakes again". Genealogy Expert. Uduike (Igbo origin) meaning "full of power". 57. 73. Most people have asked me Is Ndebele and Zulu the same? No, but the languages both fall in the Nguni group of Bantu languages. Abara Origin: West African (Igbo). The Three-Fifths compromise in the 1787 constitution counted them as less than their white counterparts. Take a breather in your busy day with this curated collection of relaxing reads, real-life stories, interviews, everyday tips, and expert insights. WebLives in Durban, South Africa Author has 5.2K answers and 1.6M answer views 1 y. Themba Ndaba is a renowned South African director who selected the cast of 'Zone 14' and 'Machine Gun Preacher'. died before making it to their destination. Kimathi (Kenyan origin) meaning "earnest provider". South Africa is full of so many diverse people. Biko (Bantu origin) meaning 'a person of the people". Gowon (Tiv origin) meaning "the rainmaker". Archi Gumede was a prominent African politician, lawyer and human rights activist. Lv 4. Some even have Indian surnames The rise of the platform economy: How your business can enter the e-commerce world, 4 things to keep in mind when shopping for your new best mate phone. 5. Special African Surnames, their Origin and What they Mean 1. We should put a disclaimer here that much of this story is upsetting, enraging, or deals with difficult themes. WebSmith seems to be at the top of the list of the whitest names, followed by Johnson, Miller, Brown, Jones and Williams. The table below includes the 1000 most common last names in America. Welcome to South African Ancestry: We would suggest that first time visitors to the South African Ancestry website first do a search on the surnames that you are researching to see what records are available on the South African Ancestry database. 37. Radebe (Zulu origin) meaning "big tree". Chidubem (Igbo origin) meaning "guided by God". This category has the following 58 subcategories, out of 58 total. This makes me the writer that I am and the editor that sees the mistakes and recreates for perfection. LISTEN | Budget bombshells, Orlando Pirates Derby shivers and UCT chaos, Podcast series: click here to find them all, LISTEN | What should Ramaphosa say: News24's Adriaan Basson and Qaanitah Hunter discuss SONA 2023, LISTEN | 'We've failed as clinicians': This HIV doctor is changing how he treats overweight patients, PODCAST | Bingeing Without Borders (Episode 6): South Africa. The most popular baby name for boys in 2014 in South Africa was Junior; for girls it was Iminathi, Statistics South Africa revealed in its latest Recorded Live Births 2014 Report. Abbott (22) 6. 44. White people from poor families with not-so-white-sounding surnames often changed them in order to make it easier for them to land a better job. Overall, the most common white last names are Smith, Johnson and Williams. For those with more uncommon last names, it can be difficult to find other people who share the same name. Etiename (Ibibio origin) meaning "benevolent". For instance, a child who was born in the morning can be named Ekusani (morning) in Zulu. Learn the ins and outs of searching through historical records & building out your family history. You are bound to meet people with unique and popular South African names! Stefanie is a freelance parenting writer and blogger, and has published works on other publications such as Motherly. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Africa which is the third largest continent in the world has their own cultures and beliefs which also differs among the tribes and nations in Africa.One of the easiest ways to identify the origin of every African is through the names they bear, the name of each individual that is from Africa has a way of linking to his or her African origin. Forgot your username? Canvas Stretching Singapore, The second-largest population with approximately 11, 3 million people, has been recorded in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Hint: It took a week. Akosua Adoma Owusu is an African-American producer and filmmaker focused on creating content that depicts the collision of different identities. For instance, Swahili is spoken in many countries such as Zimbabwe and Kenya hence Swahili names are also popular in the rejoins. Surnames of Central African Republic origin, Surnames of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Surnames_of_African_origin&oldid=975155719, Template Category TOC via CatAutoTOC on category with 301600 pages, CatAutoTOC generates standard Category TOC, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 August 2020, at 01:28. These names are unisex and all mean Lerato. Olanrewaju (Yoruba origin) meaning "my prosperity is moving forward". Ngige is one of the most old-fashioned surnames that people in Africa have. New Zealand unseats SA's Afrikaans as the sexiest accent in the world, patronymic (from the name of a father or ancestor). Web[16] Permanent white settlers were regarded as an increasing liability by colonial administrations as they sought to dominate their adopted African homelands. Stephen Biko was an African nationalist who was at the forefront of the internal resistance to the apartheid movement. Kenyetta (Kenya origin) meaning "musician". We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. Play daily crosswords, sudoku, puzzles, and more. Some self-identified free men took on French names, perhaps to emulate the vibrant Creole culture in Louisiana where black people enjoyed more freedom than other places in the south. Ooops. Like Critz said early on in the thread, we live in a patriarchal society and nowhere else is it more obvious, than when you try and trace your family roots. Avethandwa is truly loved in Xhosa. Even today, the census divides up the racial groups into categories like African American, Hispanic, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander. Keita meaning "blessing". Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. 71. Van der Merwe: It was brought to South Africa in 1661 by Dutch. Mlambo (Xhosa origin) meaning "river". Renovations 2015: Mountains of brush cleared. WebIn different countries some names are more common than others. Quansah (Ghanaian origin) meaning "God is watching". Biko (Bantu origin) meaning 'a person of the people". Kaizer Motaung is the founder and manager director of Kaizer Chiefs FC, a South African soccer team. Adeleke (Yoruba origin) meaning "the crown triumphed". WebKidadl is the best place to find free ideas for family fun and activity-based learning, whether youre staying at home or venturing out and about with kids. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents. Error: Error validating application. Everyone knows someone named Lerato! Well, maybe that is why it is easy to fix words and create content. Surnames like Abimbola that reference wealth and prosperity are common in South Africa. What is this surname that you have a problem with? WebSurname Incidence Frequency; 1: Mohamed: 7,471,689: 1:154: 2: Ali: 7,072,486: 1:163: 3: Ahmed: 6,878,864: 1:167: 4: Ibrahim: 6,404,769: 1:180: 5: Mohammed: 4,875,300: Even though both of these peoples reside in South Africa, their customs are radically different. The infant mortality rate for 2019 is estimated at 22,1deaths per 1 000 live births. Ethnically African names are prevalent now in many African enclaves whose ancestry does not trace back to the enslaved. 90. 86. 51. The slave trade and the stain on Americas past are not always discussed thoroughly in school, so its up to us to educate ourselves. [171] This also doesnt include some of the well-known tribes like Igbo and Yoruba. That chart is entitled "Most common last names for Blacks in the U.S.". I maintain the list. Yeboah meaning "helping others". Stay connected even in the dark heres how to set up the ideal loadshed-proof Oh sheep! Many people in Africa changed theirnamesafter gaining independence, but lots of popular surnames across the continent today still reflect the regions colonial past. Prince David Osei is an admired African philanthropist, investor, entrepreneur and actor. Nnadi is an extremely common surname used in much African community. Motaung meaning "lions". In her article for the Chicago Tribune, Lolly Bowean writes about how her name may be a bastardization of Bowen. The people can be divided into over a thousand different That's because in the vast majority of cases, it was White males spreadiing oats with Black females as opposed to the other way around. Its possible your ancestor was not considered a person because of the slave trade. 47. If you are looking for your forebears in the U.S. census, they will have been listed as little more than half a person. Its possible if your last name is ethnically African that your family came over on one of these waves, which should make it much easier to locate the records of your forebears. Davids. Your email address will not be published. Want to discover more about your family history? Mandela (Xhosa origin) meaning "gift of God". Required fields are marked *. Conteh (Sierra Leone origin) meaning "great eagle". Msiza meaning "helper". 35. This is why many last names technically have different origins. Hendricks. According to Stats SA, approximately 51, 2% (approximately 30 million) of the population is female. Masoja Msiza is a South African artist known for appearing in the hit telenovela 'Uzalo'. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, Garcia leapfrogged from number 18 to number eight, while Rodriguez went up from 22 to nine. 41. Mbatha meaning "protector". Akinyemi is a surname found mostly in descendants of the Yoruba people. 48. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. Sugar prices in South Africa have fallen from $0.01 per pound in 2019 to zero in 2020. 3. Sticky tack the corners of the photo down, Our List of 25 Unique Gift Ideas Moms 60th Birthday, 60th Birthday Gift Ideas For Dad: A List Of 25 Unique Ideas, 25 Unique & Special Christmas Gift Ideas For Your Mom, 18 Meaningful Sympathy Gift Ideas For A Grieving Loved One, Best Gifts For Grandparents: 26 Unique Gift Idea List, An Introduction to Common Korean Surnames, Complete List Of Common Australian Surnames & Their Origins, A Complete List Of Common Polish Surnames & Meanings, A Complete List Of Common Chinese Surnames & Meanings, A Complete List Of Common Swedish Surnames & Meanings. 75. SHARES . 42. Here is a list of popular South African last names. Orji meaning "mighty tree". Gauteng continues to record the largest share of South Africas population, with approximately 15, 2 million people (25, 8%) living in this province. In 2011, Washington was even called theblackest namein the country in several op-eds citing the U.S. Census. Muslims constitute around 30% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, which likely explains the Islamic root of many African surnames. 33. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. However, these are only a few last names in Africa. This is the reason that years later, in the 20th century, noted civil rights leader Malcolm X renounced his slave name and took on X to represent the name he should have had had his ancestors not been taken by colonizers. Last names come from indigenous, colonialist and diasporic roots. Some are based on ones village or tribe, personal characteristics, or where they live. 26. Application has been deleted. Nkosi (Nguni origin) meaning "king". You will find plenty of articles about slow travel, visas, immigration, co-living, and co-working. Chidubem is one of the many surnames that calls for a higher power. 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