Northern African
names include those from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. See also
about African names.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AÏT Berber, Northern AfricanDerived from Tamazight ⴰⵢⵜ
(aït) meaning "son", also commonly used a component for compound names and surnames.
ALBAZ Jewish, Northern AfricanAshkenazic Jewish name meaning, "falconer" found mainly amongst Jewish peoples emigrating from Algeria and Morocco.
AMIDANE Northern African, Arabic (Maghrebi)Meaning unknown; used by the native Sahrawi people of the disputed region of Western Sahara. Two known bearers are El Wali Amidane (1986-) and Elkouria Amidane (1985-), both Sahrawi human rights activists.
AZOULAY Judeo-Spanish, Northern AfricanSephardic Jewish surname of disputed meaning; it may be derived from French
azur or Spanish
azul both meaning "blue" (of Persian origin), from Tamazight
izîl meaning "good, pure, sublime", or from an acronym of the Hebrew Biblical passage אִשָּׁ֨ה זֹנָ֤ה וַחֲלָלָה֙ לֹ֣א יִקָּ֔חוּ
(’iš-šāh zō-nāh wa-ḥă-lā-lāh lō yiq-qā-ḥū) meaning "They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane".
BOUHOUCHE Berber, Northern AfricanKabyle name possibly derived from Arabic أَبُو
(ʾabū) meaning "father" and حَوْش
(ḥawš) meaning "courtyard, enclosure, farm" (chiefly Algerian).
BOUJETTIF Northern African (Archaic)Meaning, "The family of the son of the Clever Head" or "One Whom Possess a Clever Head."
Bou (normally used in the North African Regions of the Maghrib Countries) has 2 possible derivative meanings both originating from the Arabic language, "Son of..." or an Arabic word
Tho meaning, "One Who Possess A Quality."
Jettif is a variance of
Jettef,
Jeif or
Ji'f which is derived from the ancient Tamazight or Imazighen (popularly known as Berber) and is pronounced "j-ixf" which means Clever, head, or brain."
GADDAFI Arabic (Maghrebi), Northern AfricanFrom the name of an Libyan Berber tribe named
Qadhadhfa, possibly meaning "thrower, archer" from Arabic قَذَفَ
(qaḏafa) meaning "to throw". A famous bearer was
Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011), a Libyan politician and revolutionary.
GRIGAHCINE Berber (Rare, ?)Meaning unknown, perhaps of Kabyle origin. A known bearer is DJ Snake, who was born
William Grigahcine (1986-), an Algerian-French musician.
JLASSI Arabic (Maghrebi), BerberFrom the name of an Tamazight (Berber) tribal confederation in Tunisia; the name could be from Arabic إِخْلَاص
(ʾiḵlāṣ) meaning "sincerity, devotion, loyalty" or of unknown Berber meaning.
MAZIGH Arabic (Maghrebi), BerberDerived from Arabic أَمَازِيغ
(ʾamāzīḡ) the Arabic designation for the Berber (Amazigh) people of North Africa. The word itself is ultimately of Tamazight origin, from Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ
(Amaziɣ) of disputed meaning; in modern Central Atlas Tamazight, it means “free-man”.
MEGHNAGI Jewish, Northern AfricanSephardic Jewish, originating from the Libyan Jewish community. Most were from Tripoli, with a much smaller contingent from Benghazi.
MKERREF Berber (Modern, Rare)Mkerref originated from the 1950s in Tangier, Morocco. The surname is rare and its holders have riffian (amazigh) roots, known as the Temsamanis originally. ...
[more] TAMAZIGHT Berber, Northern AfricanDerived from ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵗⵜ
(Tamaziɣt), the Berber (Amazigh) name for the collective Berber language family used in North Africa.
ZOUAOUI Arabic (Maghrebi), BerberDerived from French
zouave, in turn from Arabic الزواويون
(al-zuwâwiyun), referring to a member one of the Algerian Kabyle tribes of
Zuwâwa (also spelled
Zouaoua; known as the ⵉⴳⴰⵡⴰⵡⵏ
(Igawawen) in Tamazight)...
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