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Popular baby names in South Africa

3 September 2015

The most popular baby name for boys in 2014 in South Africa was Junior; for girls it was Iminathi, Statistics South Africa revealed in its latest Recorded Live Births 2014 Report. It was released by statistician-general Pali Lehohla, on 1 September.

Dlamini was the most common surname among babies born and registered in 2014, the report stated.

"Obviously, when a child is born and they are not named yet, they may call you 'Junior' or 'Baby,'" Lehohla said.

The other names that made the top 10 list for boys:

Male Baby Names
Rank	Male first name	Number
1	Junior	1 137
2	Bandile	794
3	Kungawo	716
4	Siyabonga	709
5	Lethabo	683
6	Khayone	655
7	Mpho	647
8	Bokamoso	641
9	Kamogelo	627
10	Thato	622

The top 10 names for girls:

Female Baby Names
Rank	Female first name	Number
1	Iminathi	1 116
2	Minenhle	880
3	Rethabile	789
4	Bokamoso	663
5	Karabou	655
6	Amogelang	629
7	Tshegofatso	629
8	Lesedi	610
9	Amahle	601
10	Thandolwethu	548

The name Bokamoso appeared on both lists, but it was more popular for girls than boys.

"Although there seems to be diversity in baby forenames in terms of ethnic identities, religious influences or meanings, all the forenames for males and females appear to have positive meanings," the report noted. "In general, the names express happiness, acceptance and thankfulness."

Other findings

The data also showed there were slightly more male babies born from 1994 to 2014. "Sex ratios were between 100 and 102 male births per 100 female births during the entire observation period."

Most babies were born to mothers between the ages of 20 and 29 years old.

The provinces with the highest births were Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, while most births took place in March, January and September.

Source: SAnews.gov and SAinfo reporter