According to data from Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2014 were Iminathi and Junior.
Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:
Girl Names | Boy Names |
---|---|
1. Iminathi, 1,116 baby girls 2. Minenhle, 880 3. Rethabile, 789 4. Bokamoso, 663 5. Karabo, 655 6. Amogelang, 629 (tie) 7. Tshegofatso, 629 (tie) 8. Lesedi, 610 9. Amahle, 601 10. Thandolwethu, 548 | 1. Junior, 1,137 baby boys 2. Bandile, 794 3. Kungawo, 716 4. Siyabonga, 709 5. Lethabo, 683 6. Khayone, 655 7. Mpho, 647 8. Bokamoso, 641 9. Kamogelo, 627 10. Thato, 622 |
These rankings aren’t entirely trustworthy, though. About 24% of the names registered in South Africa in 2014 represent babies born before 2014. They were simply registered late. And the placeholder name “Junior” was used so often at registration that it erroneously ended up in the #1 spot on the boys’ side.
But it is interesting that Bokamoso, which means “future” in Sesotho, made the top 10 for both genders.
Sources: Most popular names for babies in 2014, Junior, Iminathi and Bokamoso make top 10 most popular names list in SA
Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)