49 Hausa names with their meaning, gender and the birth circumstance they recall, taken from academic work and dictionaries. Each meaning is the one given by the source: none is guessed.

Good to know. The meanings of these names come from Wiktionary, the only online source that gives them. Those marked “literal meaning” are a word-for-word translation of the name, not a definition. Know a reference book or another meaning? Write to us.
1

Day-of-birth names

Every child gets a name from the day of the week they were born on, different for a boy and a girl.

DayBoyGirl
MondayƊan AltineAltine
TuesdayƊantalaTalatu
WednesdayBalarabeBalaraba
ThursdayƊanlamiLami
FridayƊanjumaJummai
SaturdayƊan AsabeAsabe
SundayƊanladiLadi
2

Birth order and twins

Azumi girlborn during Ramadan
Ɗan Azumi boyborn during Ramadan
Kaka unisexborn during harvest time
Ɗan Kaka boyborn during harvest time
Ganau boyborn at the new moon
Shanono unisexborn while a calf was being delivered
Barau boyboy born after several older siblings died in infancy
Hasan boytraditionally given to a first-born twin
Husaini boytraditionally given to a second-born twin
3

Other names and their meanings

Jatau boyboy with light skin
Hasana girltraditionally given to a first-born twin girl
Husaina girltraditionally given to a second-born twin girl
Muhammadu boyHausa form of Muhammad
A'ishatu girlHausa form of Aisha
Hadizatu girlHausa form of Khadija
Faɗimatu girlHausa form of Fatima
Zainabu girlHausa form of Zaynab
Hauwa girlHausa form of Eve
Maryamu girlHausa form of Maryam / Mary
Saratu girlHausa form of Sarah
Rahila girlHausa form of Rachel
Adamu boyHausa form of Adam
Musa boyHausa form of Moses
Isa boyHausa form of Jesus (Isa)
Yusufu boyHausa form of Joseph
Dauda boyHausa form of David
Haruna boyHausa form of Aaron
Yaƙubu boyHausa form of Jacob
Sulemanu boyHausa form of Solomon
Isiyaku boyHausa form of Isaac
Isma'ilu boyHausa form of Ishmael
Jibirilu boyHausa form of Gabriel
Nuhu boyHausa form of Noah
Abdullahi boyHausa form of Abdullah
Audu boyshort form of names starting with Abdu-

Test yourself

1. What does “Altine” mean?

2. What does “Ɗan Asabe” mean?

3. What does “Hasana” mean?

4. What does “Musa” mean?

Where do these words come from?
Sources: en.wiktionary.org. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.