In 2001, the name Naturi debuted in the U.S. baby name data with a dozen baby girls:
- 2003: 16 baby girls named Naturi
- 2002: 11 baby girls named Naturi
- 2001: 12 baby girls named Naturi [debut]
- 2000: unlisted
- 1999: unlisted
Where did it come from?
New Jersey-born singer Naturi (pronounced na-TUR-ee) Naughton, who was a member of the girl group 3LW.
The group’s most successful single, “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right),” peaked at #23 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April of 2001.
How did Naughton come to have the unusual first name “Naturi”? Here’s how she explained it during a recent interview:
Naturi actually means nature’s girl, natural woman. It was a name that actually my parents kind of made by merging two names together. It has African [descent] but I don’t know what language. It’s almost spelled, as you can see, like the word nature. I love my name. You know, people messed it up a lot in the beginning. It was so frustrating but now I think everyone’s getting the hang of it.
I think it’s plausible that her parents created the name by altering the English word “nature” to make it look/sound more like any of various African names, such as Ngozi (Igbo), Imani (Swahili), or Mbali (Zulu).
Naturi Naughton left 3LW in mid-2002. She went on to have a successful acting career, appearing, for instance, in the film Fame (a remake of the original Fame from the early ’80s) and on the TV series Power.
What are your thoughts on the name Naturi?
Sources:
- Naturi Naughton – Wikipedia
- 3LW – Billboard
- “Naturi Naughton.” Monarch 19 Jun. 2017.
- SSA