Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about the "most common" African surname in each African nation.
This post presents selected comments from a discussion thread that began on Sept. 19, 2020 in Lipstick Alley's African Forum. That discussion was prompted by articles about a map of Africa which includes a surname that purports to be the most common surname for each African nation. The commenters didn't appear to be aware that this map was part of a study of surnames throughout the world that was commissioned by Net Credit. Some of the data that was used in that research was from Forbears.
These comments are from page 1 through page 4 of that discussion.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/08/an-alphabetized-list-of-african-nations.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I presents an alphabetized liist of the 54 African nations with the most common last name (surname) in each of those nations.
Information about Forbears is included in that post.
An Addendum to this post presents the differences between the Forbears website data about the most common last name in each Africa nation and a November 2020 map of Africa with drawn with what was purported to be "the most common" last name in each African nation.
That map is included in several online articles about the Net Credit sponsored reseach of the most common surname in nations in Africa and in most nations throughout the world. continent.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/08/excerpts-from-2020-african-discussion_23.html for Part III of this pancocojams series for additional selected comments from that Lipstick Alley discussion thread. Those comments are from page 5 through page 9 of that 2020 online discussion.
The content of this post is presented for onomastic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Tbanks to all those who collected this data and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
EXCERPTS FROM LIPSTICK ALLEY'S AFRICAN FORUM DISCUSSION
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
Read Part #1 of this pancocojams series for the alphabetical list of African nations with what is purported to be "the most common last name" in each nation. Although it's not indicated in this Lipstick Alley discussion, I learned by googling that that map with "the most common surnames in each nation" is part of a 2020 study that was commissioned by Net Credit and includes some Forbears data. Hoever, as indicated in Part I of this pancocojams series, the results for some of those nations aren't the same results that are given in Forbears websites. That said, some commenters in this pancocojams series, disagree with the results from that African map and also disagree with the results of the Forbears websites.
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/ "The Most Common Last Name in Every African Country".
[The numbers that are given with these comments correspond to the numbers the comments have in that discussion.]
Nandi
Wabazulu, Sept !9, 2020
#1
[insert: map of Africa which includes a "most common last name" in each country]
I humbly disagree with mine. I don't know where the hell
they got this.
Is this true for your country?"
-snip-
From subsequent comments, I believe this commenter is from Namibia.
**
Sep 19, 2020
Engraced, Sept. 18, 2020
#2
Diallo is true for Guinea
Mensah is accurate for Ghana
Deng is a very popular s.sudanese surname
**
VenusRising, Sept. 19, 2020
Sep 19, 2020
#3
This is interesting! I was expecting the most common last
name for Somalia to either be “Abdi” or “Ali”.
“Ndiaye” for Senegal & “Tesfaye” for Ethiopia isn’t
surprising either.
**
AwonOshi, Sep 19, 2020
#20
Mensah is so accurate for Ghanaians and Kamara for Sierra
Leonians. Every other Sierra Leonian I come across has the name Kamara, Koroma
or Conteh.
**
Nandi Wabazulu ,Sep 19, 2020
#23
I know a lot of Nkosi's, but eish I really
thought it would be Khumalo.
-snip-
This commenter is referring to South Africa.
**
AwonOshi, Sep 19, 2020
#25
Ibrahim is a popular Islamic name. Similar to like how Mary, John, David are popular Christian names.
With Nigeria's large population are the Islamic majority, it's no surprise Ibrahim is the most common.
Ibrahim might be true for Northern Nigeria but definitely not southern Nigeria.
**
Nandi Wabazulu ,Sep 19, 2020
#26
Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi are accurate af. Almost all my
friends from Malawi have the name Banda and none of them are related.
**
Seiigh2, Sep 19, 2020
#27
Nandi Wabazulu said:
I know a lot of Nkosi's, but eish I really thought it
would be Khumalo.
Or Ndlovu.”
-snip-
This comment refers to the most common surname in South Africa.
**
thewaterworks, Sep 19, 2020
#29
AwonOshi said:
Ibrahim is a popular Islamic name. Similar to like how
Mary, John, David are popular Christian names.
With Nigeria's large population are the Islamic majority,
it's no surprise Ibrahim is the most common.
It's also just Abraham in Arabic (and Hausa), so Northern
Nigerian Christians have it as a last name too.
****
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-2
thewaterworks
Sep 19, 2020
#31
Burkina Faso is super accurate - almost all Burkinabe's I've
met were Ouedraogo. Same for Jallow in Gambia
**
thewaterworks, Sep 19, 2020
#33
Igbo Chocolate said:
Diallo is true for Guinea
Mensah is accurate for Ghana
Deng is a very popular s.sudanese surname
Ibrahim might be true for Northern Nigeria but definitely
not southern Nigeria.
But Hausa people specifically outnumber other groups of
Nigerians, so numbers wise, it makes sense.
The same way a Zulu last name would be more popular in SA
than a Venda or Bapedi one since their ethnic groups have less people.
**
Rhaenyra Martell, Sep 19, 2020
#36
Lopes is def not the most common name in Cape Verde.
It's most likely Silva or Santos.
**
MicheleK, Sep 19, 2020
#37
Nandi Wabazulu said:
Which one is from your country? What do do you feel is the
most common name there?
Cameroon but the thing is the name Ngo is particular to only
one ethnic group and is given to only young unmarried women. It's like Miss. So
that's why it is considered on their map like the most popular.
I'm from another ethnic group from the biggest
(largest) region in Cameroun and we do have common names there but depending on
the village it will be spelled differently so we don't really have a most
common name nationally. Regionally it might be different.
**
thewaterworks, Sep 19, 2020
#40
For Ethiopia I would've guessed something like
Gebremariam or something beginning in "Gebre"
**
Nandi Wabazulu. Sep 19, 2020
#41
[written in response to #37
It's similar to Namibia. The most common Namibian last name
is some version of Shilongo but because of different spellings they said it is
Johannes. What name is the most common name in your ethnic group?
**
Nandi Wabazulu, Sep 19, 2020
#42
Rhaenyra Martell said:
Lopes is def not the most common name in Cape Verde.
It's most likely Silva or Santos.
It's definitely Lopes. I've met more Lopes' and Gomes' from
there than Silva or Santos.
**
**
Soulfully Me, Sep 19, 2020
#43
wow Jallow for The Gambia... interesting
So I guess the fulani tribe is the most
widespread
**
Engraced, Sept 19, 2020
#44
thewaterworks said:
But Hausa people specifically outnumber other groups of
Nigerians, so numbers wise, it makes sense.
The same way a Zulu last name would be more popular in SA
than a Venda or Bapedi one since their ethnic groups have less people.
I wouldn’t say Hausa but I get your point. The north as a
whole has multiple ethnic groups but Hausa and Fulani just happen to be the
most popular and powerful ones, so they dominate the other minority groups.
The north has the highest population in general tho
**
Rhaenyra Martell, Sep 19, 2020
#47
Nandi Wabazulu said:
It's definitely Lopes. I've met more Lopes' and Gomes'
from there than Silva or Santos.
It definitely isnt. Just because you've met more Lopes than
Silvas and Santos, doesnt make it so.
It might be that there are more Lopes' in the Diaspora,
though. But in the actual country, the vast majority arent Lopes''.
**
Nandi Wabazulu, Sep 19, 2020
#50
Rhaenyra Martell said:
It definitely isnt. Just because you've met more Lopes
than Silvas and Santos, doesnt make it so.
It might be that there are more Lopes' in the Diaspora,
though. But in the actual country, the vast majority arent Lopes''.
They specifically said their names were popular back home
but go off."
**
November 64, Sep 19, 2020
#51
I will disagree for Uganda as that is specific to girls. A
boy child can not be named that.
We all have different surnames even in thc same family. A
few families give their children their father's last name."
-snip-
The map that was inserted in the first comment indicated that "Akello" was the most common surname in Uganda.
**
Nandi Wabazulu, Sep 19, 2020
#53
[This was written in response to #51]
Are the surnames gender specific or completely different
among family members?
**
nyakomdaku, Sep 19, 2020
#54
"Mwangi is a common Kikuyu name"
-snip-
This comment refers to the name given in that map for the most common surname in Kenya.
**
Rhaenyra Martell, Sep 19, 2020
#55
Nandi Wabazulu said:
They specifically said their names were popular back home
but go off.
Ma'am, relax. It aint that serious.
I didn't say Lopes wasnt a common surname, it is. I said
that it's most likely not the most common one.
I know lotta people (myself included) with
surnames like Vasconcelos, Wahnnon, Sequeira, Carvalho, Boaventura, Ribeiro,
Loureiro, Mendes, Vieira, etc but I dont go around saying they're common just
cause me and my nearest have them."
****
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-3
Poppy_24, Sep 19, 2020
#61
"In Uganda Akello is popular amongst the Acholi tribe."
**
MetroDoomin, Sep 19, 2020
#62
Somaliana said:
Yeah for my country it’d be accurate, it’s usually at
least either Ali, Maxamed or Axmed.
yeah I’m somali as well and those were the names I was
expecting to see, especially maxamed and axmed (mohamed and ahmed for English
speakers)"
**
Cranesinthesky, Sep 19, 2020
#64
"It’s so easy to forget how big Africa’s Muslim
population is, this really showcases it."
**
thewaterworks, Sept. 19, 2021
#68
PoeticPisces said:
I get that as a first name but not a last name. I don't
know anyone with that as their last name
Most Hausa names double as last names because of the
historical system of taking your father's first name as a last name.
So in Northern Nigeria you'll see people with
Ibrahim, Mohammed, Abubakar, Abdullahi, Usman as last names and they trace it
back to a great-great grandfather's first name. Arabs do this too except they'd
say "bin or ibn (son of) Mohammed" for example
**
AwonOshi, Sep 19, 2020
#69
[This is written in response to comment #68] .
"Yes true, my family members with that name all have it as
first or middle names. I believe Hausas mainly have it as last names. I know a
Hausa IG influencer (Aisha Ibrahim) who has the last name.
This site says Ibrahim is the 63rd most common surname in
the world with it being most prevalent in Nigeria.: Ibrahim Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name
History https://forebears.io/surnames/ibrahim
Kinda of crazy since Nigeria is not a predominantly Muslim country like say Senegal or Somalia. Just goes to show how huge our population is."
**
AwonOshi, Sep 19, 2020
#70
thewaterworks said:
Most Hausa names double as last names because of the
historical system of taking your father's first name as a last name.
"I was going to say this, they also do this in yorubaland regardless
of religion."
**
thewaterworks, Sep 19, 2020
#71
[This comment is written in response to comment #70.]
"Exactly! It's also pretty popular in Sudan,
where the billionaire Mo Ibrahim comes from."
**
Dea, Sep 19, 2020
#73
"Deng is correct for South Sudan. The ethnic majority is
Dinka!"
**
zz123, Sep 19, 2020
#74
"I understand why it’s considered the most common last name,
but I associate the name listed for my country with certain ethnic groups. The
thing is “most common” doesn’t always mean common or predominant (if that makes
sense).
I assume they are looking at data sets with names and
looking for the mode - which name appears with the most frequency. The more
diverse the data set, the more “skewed” the interpretation of “most common”
could become.
I think for diverse countries (esp with more evenly split
religions/ethnicities) that can sometimes be tricky and trip ppl up. It would
be more representative if they listed top 5 names."
**
MicheleK. Sep 19, 2020
#76
Nandi Wabazulu said:
It's similar to Namibia. The most common Namibian last
name is some version of Shilongo but because of different spellings they said
it is Johannes. What name is the most common name in your ethnic group?
"We don't really have one. We would have to go on a villages
basis and then you have the polygamous families who obviously would have the
most common names. Divide that by 200 ethnic groups."
**
Nziwelalega, Sep 19, 2020
#77
Nandi Wabazulu said:
Are the surnames gender specific or completely different
among family members?
"Usually gender specific. For instance a girl would be
Akello. The boy-okello
Boy-kimuli, Girl- Nakimuli.
Also the last name given on that map is wrong."
-snip-
These comments refer to Uganda.
**
Nandi Wabazulu, Sep 19, 2020
#78
[This comment is written in response to #77].
This is similar to some Zambian names, My friend's surname
is Simukanga(male) his sister's is Namukanga(female).
What is the most common name is your opinion?
**
November64, Sep 19, 2020
#79
Nandi Wabazulu said:
Are the surnames gender specific or completely different
among family members?
"The surnames are gender specific but can be shared among
family members. For example 7 girl cousins can all be named "Akello."
Some of our names do not really have a meaning behind them
that not even your great grandma can tell you what it means.
Also names are different depending on your clan/tortem. Eg.
There are over 30 clans in Buganda, which is a tribe. Each clan has a tortem
and names specific names that when you hear the name, you know exactly which
clan that person belongs to.
Thanks"
-snip-
“Tortem”is probably a misspelling of the English word “totem”.
****
LaMochaCoca, Sep 19, 2020
#81
Nyon said:
Ndiaye seems correct for Senegal. It’s one of my
grandmothers last name.
"I would've thought Thiam for Senegal"
**
Freyja, Sep 19, 2020
#86
"I didn’t know “Deng” was the most popular surname in South
Sudan.
Just about everyone I’ve known/met with that surname was
Chinese (except for one classmate who was originally from South Sudan). And
before y’all @ me, I know that the surnames are unrelated"
**
Reina_Morena, Sep 19, 2020
#89
[This comment is written in response to #86.]
"Yup there is even a South Sudanese supermodel with that last name."
****
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-4
Larue1, Sep 19, 2020
#97
"Just as an aside for those interested in Ethiopian names. We
don't have "family names" the way you do in the West. I have a name,
the second name I use is my father's name and the final name I use is my
grandfather's name. This lets you know who I am.
For example using Western names: Alice John William. I am
Alice. My father is John and my grandfather is William, When you speak to me
you call me Mrs. Alice, not Mrs. William. William is my GRANDFATHER, and his
name is not my own. His name and my father's name are present so you know from
whom I descend: John, son of William.
If I were a boy my name may be David John William and when I
have my own son his name would be Peter David John. He would be addressed as
Mr. Peter and you would know he is the son of David who is the son of John.
Williams name falls into the ages.
Because I am a woman I always belong to my father and my
name does not change after marriage. In a Habesha household the mother will
have her own "last name" (grandfather's name) a father will have his
own "last name" (grandfather's name) and the children will all share
the name of their father's father, their grandfather, as a "last
name".
Also Tesfaye means "hope" "
**
Smoky drips, Sep 19, 2020
#108
"Not particularly true for Cameroon especially as we have too
many tribes and the names vary from anglophones to Francophones and even so for
the Francophones from region to region maybe a name like ibrahim will be true
for the hausas and the Bamoums but then in the southwest you'll expect names
like enoh and ebai with different variations."
****
bebelala, Sep 19, 2020
#111
"Make sense for Mali since Traore is bambara and Bambara are
supposed to be the majority in the country
ETA : Interestingly, Kone, Kamara/Camara, Diallo/Jallow, Ba
are also common last names in Mali in their respective ethnic groups."
**
Sunblessedhoney, Sep 19, 2020
#113
"Lol Tesfaye is very common in my country but it surprises me
that it is number one given all of our different ethnic groups having different
type of names. "Lemma", "Tedros", "Gebre___" and "Mamey"
are ones that you are likely to come across a lot."
**
ATLxLIB, Sep 19, 2020
#114
ConnorWalsh said:
… I thought that Liberia would have a European last name,
but nope….
"Most Liberians are indigenous Africans with their cultural
names intact. Only 5% of the country is Americo-Liberian."
**
Agu Nwanyi, Sept 19, 2020
#117
Fashion Candy said
For Nigeria that one Na lie abeg I haven't seen anyone with that name yet
maybe Yoruba side but not Igbo land
"The most popular surname from the East is Okafor. I know too
many people with that name. Lol"
**
Lyndy Prosper, Sep 19, 2020
#119
"Zambia, Malawi, Eswatini and Zimbabwe accurate.
Zimbabwe would have also thought Sibanda but you find Moyos all over and across
ethnic groups. I actually know a few Bandas from Zambia and Phiris from Malawi
and vice versa. Don't know many Nkosis in SA although I know it's a common
name, also thought Ndlovu would be more common.
****
This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
