How popular is the baby name Lethabo 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 Lethabo.

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Popularity of the baby name Lethabo


Posts that mention the name Lethabo

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2023

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

South Africa — the southernmost country on the continent of Africa — has three capital cities, a dozen official languages, and more than 62 million residents.

In 2023, South Africa welcomed 932,138 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Onalerona and Lethabo.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Onalerona, 2,836 baby girls
  2. Melokuhle, 2,463
  3. Lisakhanya, 2,298
  4. Zanokuhle, 2,273
  5. Lethabo, 2,093
  6. Lesedi, 2,010
  7. Omphile, 1,909
  8. Amahle, 1,778
  9. Naledi, 1,771
  10. Nkanyezi, 1,694

Boy names

  1. Lethabo, 2,965 baby boys
  2. Nkazimulo, 2,377
  3. Lubanzi, 2,249
  4. Nkanyezi, 1,890
  5. Langelihle, 1,874
  6. Lethokuhle, 1,656
  7. Junior, 1,640
  8. Melokuhle, 1,614
  9. Siphosethu, 1,607
  10. Omphile, 1,606

The #1 girl name, Onalerona — which means “he is with us” in the related languages of Tswana and Sotho — was also the #1 girl name in 2022. But one year earlier, in 2021, it was way down in 27th place.

What pushed it to the top all of a sudden?

The character Onalerona Molapo from the South African TV series "House of Zwide" (2021-)
Onalerona Molapo from “House of Zwide“

A young character named Onalerona “Ona” Molapo from the popular South African TV series House of Zwide, which began airing in July of 2021. The character, an aspiring fashion designer, is played by actress Nefisa Mkhabela.

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Flag of South Africa (public domain); screenshot of House of Zwide

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2021

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

South Africa — the southernmost country in Africa — shares a border with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini. Its eleven official languages include Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and English.

In 2021, South Africa welcomed 1,087,526 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Melokuhle and Lethabo.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,784 baby girls
  2. Omphile, 2,500
  3. Iminathi, 2,387
  4. Lisakhanya, 2,369
  5. Lethabo, 2,336
  6. Amahle, 2,103
  7. Lesedi, 2,098
  8. Rethabile, 2,035
  9. Lethokuhle, 2,032
  10. Asemahle, 1,844

Boy Names

  1. Lethabo, 3,213 baby boys
  2. Lubanzi, 2,810
  3. Melokuhle, 2,619
  4. Junior, 2,027
  5. Lethokuhle, 1,993
  6. Siphosethu, 1,953
  7. Omphile, 1,898
  8. Lwandle, 1,862
  9. Banele, 1,816
  10. Ofentse, 1,765

As usual, the two top-10 lists have several names in common: Melokuhle (the #1 girl name), Lethabo (the #1 boy name), Omphile, and Lethokuhle.

In 2020, the top baby name in South Africa for both genders was Melokuhle.

Sources: Recorded live births, 2021 – Statistics South Africa, South Africa – Wikipedia

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

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2020

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

For 2020, Statistics South Africa didn’t release one set of baby name rankings covering the entire country. Instead, it released nine sets of rankings, each representing one of the country’s nine provinces.

So let’s start with that. Here are the top 3 girl names and top 3 boy names of 2020 within each of South Africa’s nine provinces, listed from most to least populous:

  • Gauteng (26.0% of the population)
    • Top girl names: Lesedi, 843; Melokuhle, 835; Lethabo, 809
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 995; Bokamoso, 636; Omphile, 633
  • KwaZulu-Natal (19.3%)
    • Top girl names: Lisakhanya, 1,607; Asemahle, 1,301; Melokuhle, 991
    • Top boy names: Lubanzi, 1,759; Melokuhle, 1,202; Ayabonga, 1,196
  • Western Cape (11.8%)
    • Top girl names: Melokuhle, 410; Othalive, 262; Mia, 216
    • Top boy names: Liam, 338; Noah, 254; Lundanele, 240
  • Eastern Cape (11.3%)
    • Top girl names: Enzokuhle, 669; Melokuhle, 667; Othalive, 641
    • Top boy names: Enzokuhle, 727; Othalive, 565; Melokuhle, 492
  • Limpopo (9.8%)
    • Top girl names: Tshegofatso, 586; Amogelang, 572; Lethabo, 562
    • Top boy names: Ofentse, 622; Phenyo, 588; Katlego, 564
  • Mpumalanga (7.8%)
    • Top girl names: Melokuhle, 816; Amahle, 597; Minenhle, 439
    • Top boy names: Blessing, 443; Banele, 424; Junior, 397
  • North West (6.9%)
    • Top girl names: Warona, 451; Reatlegile, 351; Omolemo, 340
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 510; Refentse, 336; Warona, 267
  • Free State (4.9%)
    • Top girl names: Amohelang, 363; Omphile, 309; Rethabile, 299
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 525; Amohelang, 400; Katleho, 355
  • Northern Cape (2.2%)
    • Top girl names: Warona, 89; Remofilwe, 79; Omolemo, 74
    • Top boy names: Lethabo, 96; Leano, 63; Refentse, 63

Using only the data they gave us (nine top-ten lists), here’s what I came up with for the most popular baby names in the country for 2020:

Girl Names:

  • Melokuhle
  • Enzokuhle
  • Lesedi
  • Rethabile
  • Lethabo

Boy Names:

  • Melokuhle
  • Lethabo
  • Lubanzi
  • Banele
  • Junior

But we’re missing a lot of data here, so there’s no telling how close these are to the official national rankings.

In 2019, the top baby names in South Africa were Melokuhle and Enzokuhle.

Update, 3/6/22: Commenter Andrea very kindly pointed out that I totally missed (!) the national rankings in the statistical release I cited. I’m sorry about that, everyone. Here are the top 10 lists:

Girl Names

  1. Melokuhle, 4,347 baby girls
  2. Amahle, 2,523
  3. Enzokuhle, 2,370
  4. Lisakhanya, 2,327
  5. Lethabo, 2,319
  6. Omphile, 2,300
  7. Lesedi, 2,236
  8. Okuhle, 2,225
  9. Lethokuhle, 2,222
  10. Rethabile, 2,094

Boy Names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,187 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,139
  3. Lubanzi, 3,029
  4. Enzokuhle, 2,871
  5. Banele, 2,793
  6. Junior, 2,323
  7. Lethokuhle, 2,196
  8. Ayabonga, 2,105
  9. Siyabonga, 1,972
  10. Omphile, 1,857

Sources: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2020, List of South African provinces by population – Wikipedia

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

Popular baby names in South Africa, 2019

Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa

According to Statistics South Africa, the most popular baby names in the country in 2019 were Melokuhle and Enzokuhle.

Here are South Africa’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Melokuhle, 3,418 baby girls
  2. Enzokuhle, 3,273
  3. Amahle, 2,534
  4. Lethabo, 2,420
  5. Omphile, 2,350
  6. Okuhle, 2,313
  7. Lesedi, 2,154
  8. Lethokuhle, 2,079
  9. Lisakhanya, 2,077
  10. Rethabile, 1,951

Boy Names

  1. Enzokuhle, 3,851 baby boys
  2. Lethabo, 3,138
  3. Lubanzi, 3,110
  4. Melokuhle, 2,907
  5. Junior, 2,471
  6. Lethokuhle, 2,169
  7. Siyabonga, 1,979
  8. Omphile, 1,292
  9. Thato, 1,887
  10. Bokamoso, 1,883

In general, the popular baby forenames for males and females reflect positive hopes for the child, express beliefs and are inspired by positive connotations of both love and acceptance.

In 2018, the top name for both girls and boys was Enzokuhle.

In the girls’ top 10, Lethokuhle and Lisakhanya replaced Amogelang and Onthatile.

In the boys’ top 10, Lethokuhle replaced Amogelang.

Finally, the top five middle names per gender in 2019 were…

  • Girls: Precious, Princess, Angel, Blessing, Hope
  • Boys: Junior, Blessing, Gift, Prince, Lubanzi

Source: P0305 – Recorded live births, 2019 – Stats SA

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