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
- Enzokuhle, 3,751 baby girls
- Melokuhle, 3,076
- Amahle, 2,856
- Okuhle, 2,389
- Lethabo, 2,364
- Omphile, 2,205
- Lesedi, 2,092
- Rethabile, 2,050
- Amogelang, 1,849
- Onthatile, 1,810
Boy Names
- Enzokuhle, 4,124 baby boys
- Lethabo, 3,137
- Melokuhle, 2,823
- Lubanzi, 2,801
- Junior, 2,181
- Siyabonga, 2,039
- Bokamoso, 1,988
- Omphile, 1,905
- Amogelang, 1,847
- 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)
It’s very interesting that five of those names – Enzokuhle, Melokuhle, Lethabo, Omphile and Amogelang – are part of the top ten for both males and females, just in a slightly different order. And four of them were also shared top ten in 2017.
How very, very ‘unisex’ or genderless. What does that say about society in South Africa??