Banji as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Banji

What is the meaning of the name Banji ?

The baby name Banji is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced BAN-jee (IPA: /ˈbɑndʒi/).

Banji is Yoruba in Origin.

Banji is a Yoruba given name formed from bá “with” + jí “wake, arise,” usually glossed as “wakes with me” or “arises alongside me.” It expresses the joy of a new dawn at a child’s arrival and the belief that favor or destiny awakens together with the family. In Yoruba orthography it’s often written Bánjí and pronounced BAN-jee.

The element -bánjí appears widely in honorific and theophoric compounds: Adébánjí (“the crown wakes with me”), Ọlábánjí (“wealth wakes with me”), and Olúwábánjí (“God wakes with me”). Banji long functioned as the familiar short form of such names and, from the mid‑20th century onward, also stands alone as a streamlined, modern choice across Nigeria and the Yoruba diaspora. Usage is unisex but leans masculine. Variants and related forms include Bánjí (tonal spelling), Banji (anglicized), Adebanji, Olabanji, and Oluwabanji.