Popular baby names in South Africa, 2017

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby name in the country in 2017 was Enzokuhle — for both boys and girls!

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Enzokuhle (meaning “to do good” in Zulu), 2,587 baby girls
2. Melokuhle (“stand up for what’s right,” Zulu), 2,456
3. Amahle (“pretty,” Zulu), 2,260
4. Lethabo (“luck,” Sesotho, Sepedi & Setswana), 2,243
5. Amogelang, 2,089
6. Omphile, 2,078
7. Lesedi, 2,059
8. Rethabile, 2,045
9. Luthando, 1,919
10. Thandolwethu, 1,784

Boy Names
1. Enzokuhle, 2,832 baby boys
2. Lethabo, 2,824
3. Melokuhle, 2,487
4. Lubanzi, 2,293
5. Amogelang, 2,164
6. Siyabonga, 2,147
7. Bandile, 1,976
8. Junior, 1,969
9. Bokamoso, 1,877
10. Mpho, 1,818

Interestingly, three names — Enzokuhle, Melokuhle and Amogelang — ranked in the top five for both genders.

In terms of middle names, the top choices were…

  • Girls: Precious (5,355), Princess (3,925), Angel (3,351)
  • Boys: Junior (9,196), Blessing (4,694), Gift (3,735)

In 2016, the top baby names were reportedly Precious and Junior, but…I’m under the impression that SA rankings from before 2017 accounted for overall usage, not first-name usage specifically.

Sources: What’s in a name? | Statistics South Africa, It’s official: Here are SA’s most popular baby names, P0305 – Recorded live births, 2017

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

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