20 Free Popular black names by gender
For today’s entry in Black Ghetto Baby Names, I would like to start a compendium of classically African American names, girl and boy. Each name’s link connects to an in-depth discussion on the name.
| WOMEN | MEN | ImaniA name that traveled the Arabian peninsula to reach us. |
DeShaw
A name born of Scotland and black ingenuity. |
|---|---|
| EbonyDiscussion of a beautiful, thorny name. | DeAndreA black name rooted in Ancient Greece. |
|
Shanice
An original of African America. |
MarquisA name’s travel from France to the diaspora. |
| AaliyahTragic black name from under the Arab sun. | DarnellA truly black name, from the gray British Isles. |
|
Precious
A name for the beloved. |
TerrellInherited from the slave masters, and made ours. |
| NiaDiaspirated from the Indian subcontinent. | MalikArab royalty, black loyalty, and a strong military leader. |
|
Deja
Oubliette of a name for the unforgotten. |
TrevonMashup from the british isles. |
|
Diamond
A most precious gem. |
TyroneFrom a long line of lords. |
|
Asia
From the ancient continent. |
Willie
A classic name of Black America. |
| AliyahAnother spelling of Aaliyah. | DominiqueA translation of our lord. |
|
Jada Named of the precious green stone. |
DemetriusAn ancient greek deity. |
|
Tierra
Creature of the Earth. |
ReginaldA black name, a king of the British. |
|
Tiara
Named for a beautiful, bejeweled crown. |
JamalArabic for “handsome.” |
|
Kiara
A mysterious name from the east. |
Maurice
From the warm south of France to the black diaspora. |
| JazmineNamed after Jasmine: a fragrant persian plant. |
Jalen
A strong male name of unknown origins. |
| JasminAnother spelling of Jasmine. | DariusPowerful ancient Persian emperor. |
| JazminAnother spelling of Jasmine. | XavierAn old basque name, an intellectual. |
| JasmineThe original spelling of Jasmine. | TerranceName of the ancient poets |
|
Alexus
Descended from the Ancient Greek ruler. |
AndreA french name descended from the ancient Greeks. |
|
Raven
For the mysterious and intelligent bird. |
DarrylAn old house from France and the British Isles. |
And thus concludes the list. How many of these would you consider “Black ghetto baby names”? For me, I don’t associate any of them with such a heinous title. In fact, immediately upon reading the list I was struck by the creativity and ingenuity of the minds that created these names. While usually our people are struck down in public for a lack of intellectualism, our ability to crunch the English language into meanings and syllables not previously imagined is I think unparalleled.
At the same time, and I will get into this in a future post, we must observe the fact that, from a vocational perspective, it’s dangerous for our children to go out into the job market with names like “Jamal”, “Tyrone”, and “Malik”. Studies have shown that of two men with identical resumes, one with a distinctive African American name and one without, the “Tyrone” of the pair will be eliminated. So when you’re naming your kids during this wonderful season of your life, I applaud your desire to seek a name that celebrates our culture. However, also please keep in mind that the child has to live with this name forever, for good or for ill.
This is the word from Black Ghetto Baby Names for this evening. Stay safe and curious as each wave of life passes you, coasts towards the horizon.
EDIT:
Some of my readers have questioned whether these names are actually “African American names.” The names in the list were the most frequently used mens and womens names among African Americans in the, I believe, 2000 US Census. From the standpoint of usage, this surely makes them “African American” names. However, my readers raised the reasonable point that these names have much longer histories than African America. This exact observation is the point of the site =). I hope you enjoy it.
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24 Responses to “20 Free Popular black names by gender”
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Hy, my name is Luken from Zimbabwe would like to share my name with the rest of the world at the time i am looking for a unique african american names for my unborn babies boy and girl.
if u have any suggetsions for my unborn babies pliz do pass them to me.
so I guess my children do not have black names. my sons are nicholas and cory?
so I guess my children do not have black names. my sons are nicholas and cory? pardon me
OK FOR ONE WHY ARE THE NAMES LABLED black ghetto nameS????? BECAUSE THE NAMES ARE COMMON REULAR NAMES.
OK FOR ONE WHY ARE THE NAMES LABLED black ghetto nameS????? BECAUSE THE NAMES ARE COMMON REGULAR NAMES.
Hi, my name is Oshiba but i don’t exactly known what it means i’m confused because i would like to known the meaning of my name and it’s orgin if you could help me out that would be very helpful
Thank you
Ok…DeShaw you are an idiot. Those are not Black Ghetto Names…those are names that have been linked to African-Americans…just another method of profiling. The names you have chosen above with the exception of Jamal, Malik, Darius and Aliyah are Euro-centric names. And for the record, I know a few white Maurices. Having said that we have been dooped into not loving anything about ourselves especially our African-ness (i know that is not a word). Everyone in the world wants to be black, look, walk, speak slang, dance and dress like black folk except us…this website serves no purpose other than to continue “the whiter the righter” theory we base our existance on.
Luken my suggestion to you would be to find a beautiful African name with a sound meaning for your babies, best wishes.
Peace to all.
I agree LB– im from florida,and Ive heard some pretty “interesting” names (i.e. Metrivias, and Janquies) I thought names like those would be on this site, I know qite a few people (black and white)have names like Reginald and Jasmine. I Have (3) daughters: April, Chelsea, and Madison: I like those names, and are EASY to read and pronounce. I have an “unusual” name to pronounce, and to this day I catch hell correcting anyone who says it wrong!
HOw ThA HEll iZ THOSE GHETTO? iN A WAY tHAs KiNDA RAcESt,N0?
does any 1 know any good baby boy names?
cuz al the 1s iv got r shit nd im sick of looking on diffrent webs nd them being al the same thanx
Uhh to me these names are not ghetto really.the creative names like stonandron now that really kinda stupid creative but you know
Them bitches dont got shit on us black folk we know how name our hott as childern.
fucking ghetto shiiitt
peace
Let me aks you: how bout “Niggah” thas what we call each othah anyway?
These comment are idiotic! Reading comprehension is nil.
These names aren’t Ghetto. Even my name isn’t ghetto but people consider it to be because they’ve never seen it spelt like that before. My sons name is Michael Ja’ Bryant.Is that considered “ghetto” too? He is mixed and his father picked his name because he believes it gives a strong sense of both his italian and his african american traits and allows him to accpet both sides…
it shouldnt be titled black ghetto baby names…..by the way where are the telicias…and shondrekas??
Davontae. Anything with the prefix LA (LaVincent, Lashonda). DE names as well such as DeAndre. Unnecessary apostrophes and accent marks are also hallmarks of ghetto names.
HEY YA’LL WUZ UP MY NAME IS MEKIA AND I’MA BOUT TA HAVE A BABY BOY HIS NAME IS WAT I DON’T HAVE!!!!!!!!
What’s up all,
just wanted to clear up some general misconceptions of my site. You know what, this site is to be a celebration of African American naming, and bites back AGAINST the social stereotype of the “ghetto” name. There’s much more to come for this site, and you can bet I’m taking your input under advice. Peace to all.
DeShawn
My name is Butuka and am from Nigeria. My brother name is Shamdo. Why do American African people use such funny names for children? Many if not all name I see for “African” children are not from Africa at all. I think many name I see are only imagined African names. You in USA should name children real names. You are American, use American name for your child. Elsewise, use authentic African name and not the ghetto name so often we see and sadly hear applied to our people
all of you are a bunch of NIGGERS!! nobody wants to be black… why would i want to smell like crap mixed with cocoa butter? why would i want to have velcro as hair? your names arent creative… its just your moms high off cocaine and crack and she just pulled a name out of her crack.. and AKS, isnt spelled AKS, its ASK!!! and you wonder why everyone thinks you all are freakin morons… damn nigga DAMN!!!
Shanaynay212 is an excellent example of white trailer trash. Along with living in a trailer, she has a crack lab set up in her shed, 3 illegitimate children and is a high school drop-out. One of her life-time goals is getting on SSI so she can claim disability for life and never have to work at a car wash again.
All due respect, however proud we may be of these “black” names, the way you have described them shows dishonesty. “Reginald” — a king of Britain, a black name.” Regi/regina is a Latin word for king/queen, and is a part of most european langauges. It has nothing to do with a particular British king. I don’t know how the hell “DeShaw” is Scottish and indicative of black intelligence. Whatever. You’ll have to elaborate on that one. If a name is of European origin and adapted for black American usage, then just say it like that. Raven is a black bird. You say it is an “intelligent bird.” Maybe, but I suspect that if it is used in the “ghetto” it is because it is black and raven just sounds cool. And what the f@#k is “Asia” doing in this list and not “Africa?” Whether “everbody” in the world actually wants to be black, I’m in no position to pontificate on. Certainly a lot of people, especially adolescents, find black stuff amusing. But let’s not be silly. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to stop the jive naming. and by the way, “trailer trash” names of 30 years ago were “Tiffany” and “Kimberly” which are now quite popular in the ghetto.
Like the Nigerian above said, why don’t we either use real African names, or just stop f#@#king with the European ones.