How popular is the baby name Thandolwethu in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Thandolwethu.

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Popularity of the baby name Thandolwethu


Posts that mention the name Thandolwethu

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2018

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby name in the country last year — for both baby boys and baby girls — was (again) Enzokuhle.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Enzokuhle, 3,751 baby girls
  2. Melokuhle, 3,076
  3. Amahle, 2,856
  4. Okuhle, 2,389
  5. Lethabo, 2,364
  6. Omphile, 2,205
  7. Lesedi, 2,092
  8. Rethabile, 2,050
  9. Amogelang, 1,849
  10. Onthatile, 1,810

Boy Names

  1. Enzokuhle, 4,124 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,137
  3. Melokuhle, 2,823
  4. Lubanzi, 2,801
  5. Junior, 2,181
  6. Siyabonga, 2,039
  7. Bokamoso, 1,988
  8. Omphile, 1,905
  9. Amogelang, 1,847
  10. Thato, 1,808

In the girls’ top 10, Okuhle and Onthatile replaced Luthando and Thandolwethu.

In the boys’ top 10, Omphile and Thato replaced Bandile and Mpho.

And, looking at middle names, the top three choices per gender are exactly the same as the year before:

  • Girls: Precious, Princess, Angel
  • Boys: Junior, Blessing, Gift

Sources: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2018 – Stats SA, Most popular baby names in South Africa in 2018, Revealed: The most popular baby names in SA

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2016

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Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Precious and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:

Girl Names
1. Precious
2. Princess
3. Amahle
4. Luthando
5. Thandolwethu
6. Blessing
7. Angel
8. Siphesihle
9. Melokuhle
10. Amogelang

Boy Names
1. Junior
2. Blessing
3. Gift
4. Bandile
5. Prince
6. Melokuhle
7. Siyabonga
8. Lethabo
9. Amogelang
10. Lubanzi

In the girls’ top 10, Luthando, Siphesihle, and Amogelang replaced Minenhle, Faith, and Lesedi.

In the boys’ top 10, Amogelang and Lubanzi replaced Benele and Samkelo.

In 2015, the top two names were the same.

Sources: What’s in a name? SA’s most popular baby names revealed, Recorded live births, 2016 – Stats SA

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2015

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to data released last October by Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2015 were Precious and Junior.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl Names
1. Precious, 6,598 baby girls
2. Princess, 4,762
3. Angel, 4,684
4. Amahle, 3,998
5. Minenhle, 3,347
6. Thandolwethu, 3,204
7. Melokuhle, 2,997
8. Blessing, 2,919
9. Faith, 2,906
10. Lesedi, 2,851

Boy Names
1. Junior, 10,743 baby boys
2. Blessing, 5,819
3. Gift, 4,898
4. Bandile, 4,078
5. Prince, 3,721
6. Siyabonga, 3,713
7. Melokuhle, 3,513
8. Lethabo, 3,280
9. Banele, 2,864
10. Samkelo, 2,748

The new #1 girl name, Precious, is also new to the top 10. (It replaced former #1 Iminathi, which dropped out of the top 10.) The top boy name is still the placeholder name Junior.

Most of the names above are brand new to the rankings, which is a bit suspicious. But I’m inclined to think that these 2015 rankings are more trustworthy than the 2014 rankings, as the raw numbers are much higher this time around.

At least five of the names above are from the isiZulu language. Here’s what they mean:

  • Amahle means “the beautiful ones”
  • Bandile means “they have extended in number”
  • Minenhle means “good/lovely day”
  • Siyabonga means “we are grateful”
  • Thandolwethu means “our love”

Sources: Most popular baby names in South Africa revealed, Top 10 most popular baby names for boys and girls in South Africa, Naming in Zulu – African Studies Center (Penn)

Image: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain)

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2014

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

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 NamesBoy 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)