Names by country
Nigerian names for characters
Popular Nigerian first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How Nigerian names work
Names often record the circumstances of a birth or a family's faith. In the south, English Christian names sit alongside Yoruba or Igbo ones; virtue names (Blessing, Favour, Precious) rose from the 1970s.
Middle names. Southern Nigerians often carry several names: an English or Christian name plus one or more native names, used in either order.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- Grace
- Comfort
- Elizabeth
- Mary
- Victoria
- Esther
- Dorcas
- Felicia
Boys
- Samuel
- Joseph
- Emmanuel
- Peter
- John
- Stephen
- Matthew
- Benjamin
Born 1950–64
Girls
- Grace
- Comfort
- Patience
- Elizabeth
- Victoria
- Esther
- Florence
- Agnes
Boys
- Emmanuel
- Samuel
- Joseph
- Peter
- Godwin
- Sunday
- Daniel
- Michael
Born 1965–79
Girls
- Blessing
- Patience
- Joy
- Gift
- Mercy
- Faith
- Esther
- Gloria
Boys
- Emmanuel
- David
- Daniel
- Michael
- Godwin
- Sunday
- Victor
- Samuel
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Blessing
- Precious
- Faith
- Joy
- Mercy
- Favour
- Gift
- Esther
Boys
- David
- Daniel
- Emmanuel
- Michael
- Samuel
- Victor
- Joshua
- Kingsley
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Precious
- Favour
- Deborah
- Esther
- Miracle
- Testimony
- Destiny
- Joy
Boys
- David
- Daniel
- Joshua
- Samuel
- Emmanuel
- Victor
- Miracle
- Joseph
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Precious
- Favour
- Esther
- Deborah
- Zara
- Jasmine
- Daniella
- Michelle
Boys
- David
- Daniel
- Joshua
- Jayden
- Ethan
- Samuel
- Emmanuel
- Jeremiah
Common Nigerian surnames
- Adeyemi
- Okafor
- Abubakar
- Okeke
- Bello
- Ogunleye
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside Nigeria changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Yoruba (South-West: Lagos, Ibadan)
Yoruba names are sentences: Oluwaseun means God has done it, Babatunde father has returned (a boy born after a grandfather died). Yoruba is tonal, so the respellings are only a guide.
Surnames: Adeyemi, Ogunleye, Adebayo, Olawale, Ogunbiyi, Akinola, Balogun, Afolabi, Ogundipe, Adeleke
Girls: Folake, Yetunde, Funmilayo, Adeola, Titilayo, Bukola, Omolara, Temitope
Boys: Oluwaseun, Adebayo, Olumide, Babatunde, Ayodele, Olufemi, Kayode, Segun
Igbo (South-East: Enugu, Onitsha)
Many Igbo names contain Chukwu or Chi (God): Chukwuemeka means God has done great things. Okafor and Okeke come from the market days Afor and Eke on which an ancestor was born.
Surnames: Okafor, Okeke, Nwosu, Eze, Okonkwo, Obi, Nwankwo, Chukwu, Okoro, Ibe
Girls: Chiamaka, Ngozi, Adaeze, Chioma, Nkechi, Ifeoma, Obiageli, Amarachi
Boys: Chukwuemeka, Chinedu, Obinna, Ikenna, Nnamdi, Uchenna, Emeka, Ifeanyi
Hausa-Fulani (North: Kano, Kaduna)
Largely Muslim north: Arabic-origin names, often with Hausa short forms (Hauwa for Eve, Bilkisu for Bilqis).
Surnames: Abubakar, Bello, Mohammed, Sani, Aliyu, Garba, Danjuma, Yakubu, Idris, Lawal
Girls: Aisha, Fatima, Hauwa, Zainab, Amina, Hadiza, Maryam, Halima
Boys: Abubakar, Musa, Ibrahim, Usman, Aliyu, Sani, Bello, Yusuf
Questions
What are common Nigerian surnames?
Some of the most common Nigerian surnames are Adeyemi, Okafor, Abubakar, Okeke, Bello, Ogunleye. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do Nigerian names work?
Names often record the circumstances of a birth or a family's faith. In the south, English Christian names sit alongside Yoruba or Igbo ones; virtue names (Blessing, Favour, Precious) rose from the 1970s. Southern Nigerians often carry several names: an English or Christian name plus one or more native names, used in either order.
Build a Nigerian character in one tap
InkBorn gives them a name from the right decade, a face card, a background, a personality and even their social media handles.