By Region  ·  East African

East African Muslim Baby Names

12 Muslim baby names used in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, each with its Arabic and Urdu spelling, its meaning, and its letter-by-letter reading.

12 names

On this page
12 names
Used in
Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar
Split
1 boy names, 11 girl names
Every entry has
Arabic and Urdu spelling, meaning, and the Ilm ul Huroof reading

What is on this page? 12 Muslim baby names used in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, each with its Arabic and Urdu spelling, its meaning, and its letter-by-letter reading. Every name links to its full page.

أمانيAmaniWishes, hopes, top Arab and East African girls name بَرَكَةBarakaBaraka, Blessing, East African girls بَرَكَةBereketBlessing, Ethiopian Muslim boys name from Arabic baraka برهانBirhanLight/Proof, Ethiopian Muslim girls name from Arabic burhan فَاطِمَةFatumaOne who weans, abstains حواءHawwaWife of Adam (AS), mother of humanity ملائكةMalaikaAngels, the plural of malak راحيلRahelRachel, East African Muslim girls name رشيدةRashidaWise, rightly guided, Swahili East African Muslim feminine name رَحْمَةRehemaMercy, East African Swahili girls name صَفِيَّةSafiaSafiyya, East African/Swahili form زبيدةZubedaZubaidah, East African Swahili form

How names work in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar

The Swahili coast has been Muslim and trading with Arabia for a thousand years, and Swahili itself is a Bantu language carrying a great deal of Arabic. Names travel easily along that route, and Somali naming keeps the Arabic close while coastal Swahili naming softens it.

Ordered by how often visitors open them on AsrNaam.

  1. ZubedaزبيدةZubaidah, East African Swahili form
  2. FatumaفَاطِمَةOne who weans, abstains
  3. RahelراحيلRachel, East African Muslim girls name
  4. BirhanبرهانLight/Proof, Ethiopian Muslim girls name from Arabic burhan
  5. AmaniأمانيWishes, hopes, top Arab and East African girls name
  6. BarakaبَرَكَةBaraka, Blessing, East African girls
  7. BereketبَرَكَةBlessing, Ethiopian Muslim boys name from Arabic baraka
  8. HawwaحواءWife of Adam (AS), mother of humanity
  9. MalaikaملائكةAngels, the plural of malak
  10. RashidaرشيدةWise, rightly guided, Swahili East African Muslim feminine name

East African Muslim girl names

11 of the names here are girl names.

Zubedaزبيدة Fatumaفَاطِمَة Rahelراحيل Birhanبرهان Amaniأماني Barakaبَرَكَة Hawwaحواء Malaikaملائكة Rashidaرشيدة Rehemaرَحْمَة Safiaصَفِيَّة

Quranic names used in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar

1 of the names on this page appear in the Quran or belong to a figure named in it. A name does not have to be Quranic to be Islamic, but the overlap is worth seeing.

Hawwaحواء

Questions about East African Muslim names

How many East African Muslim names are there?
AsrNaam lists 12 used in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, 1 for boys and 11 for girls. Naming traditions overlap rather than divide, so many of these are used well beyond the region too.
Are East African names Arabic names?
Not all of them, and the distinction matters. A name is Islamic through its meaning, not through the language it comes from. Some of the names here are Arabic and travelled; others come from the languages of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar and were carried into Muslim naming locally. Both are on this page, each with its origin stated.
Which East African Muslim name is most popular?
By what visitors search for and open on this site, Zubeda, Fatuma and Rahel lead. The settled meaning of Zubeda is: Zubaidah, East African Swahili form.
Do these names have an Urdu spelling?
Yes. Every name on this site carries its Arabic spelling and its Urdu spelling separately, because Urdu writes ک ی ہ where Arabic writes ك ي ه. You can also browse the whole library by Urdu letter.

Other naming traditions

ArabicNorth AfricanSouth Asian and UrduTurkish and TurkicGulfWest AfricanPersianLevantineIndonesian and MalayBalkanBerber

Or narrow by several things at once with the name filter, or browse by meaning, A to Z, or by Urdu letter.