Amharic Boy Names
Amharic male names draw on Amharic and Geʽez, with strong Ethiopian Orthodox and biblical influence. Many show masculine morphology with endings such as -u or -e (Berhanu, Alemu, Bekele) and lack the feminine -t/-it suffix. Compound theophoric and virtue elements are common, including Geta “lord,” Gebre “servant of,” and Berhan “light,” seen in forms like Getachew and Berhanu. Biblical and liturgical names such as Dawit and Ermias remain widespread.
In contemporary use, boys’ names typically appear with a patronymic: given name followed by the father’s given name, not a fixed surname. Variant spellings occur in modern records (Dawit/Dawyt, Eskinder/Eskindir, Biniam, Aklilu, Amare).
Showing 50
of 94 names
| Name | Meaning | Origins | Gender | Popularity (last 10y) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ermias | Yahweh will exalt / God will uplift | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | 2,031 #1 | |
| Amare | From Latin 'amare' meaning 'to love' (interpreted as 'loving' or 'beloved'); in Amharic it can mean 'handsome' or 'beautiful'. | Amharic, Arabic, English, Latin, Sanskrit | Boy | 1,479 #2 | |
| Tafari | He who inspires awe; one who is revered | Amharic | Boy | 294 #3 | |
| Yohannes | Yahweh is gracious | Amharic, Ge'ez, Greek, Hebrew, Latin | Boy | 193 #4 | |
| Dawit | Beloved | Amharic | Boy | 168 #5 | |
| Robel | Common Eritrean/Ethiopian male name; meanings vary by source, often rendered as 'blessed' or 'gift'. | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | 164 #6 | |
| Henok | Dedicated; initiated | Amharic, Hebrew, Tigrinya | Boy | 90 #7 | |
| Addis | Amharic: "new"; English surname usage: "son of Adam" | Amharic | Boy | 72 #8 | |
| Alem | World, universe (also can mean ornament/celebration in some Turkic usages) | Amharic, Arabic, Turkish | Boy | 68 #9 | |
| Taye | He was seen | Amharic, Ethiopian | Boy | 53 #10 | |
| Selassie | Trinity (the Holy Trinity) | Amharic | Boy | 47 #11 | |
| Tewodros | Gift of God | Amharic, Ge'ez, Greek | Boy | 29 #12 | |
| Kiros | A male given name; exact etymology is uncertain - sometimes associated with names like Cyrus (Persian Kūruš) or Greek Kyros/Kairos, so meanings attributed include notions like 'sun' (Cyrus) or 'right/opportune time' (kairos). | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | 18 #13 | |
| Ras | Amharic/Ge'ez: title meaning 'head, chief, duke'; Arabic: 'head' or 'top'; also used as a short form of Rasmus/Erasmus (Greek root meaning 'beloved'). | Amharic, Arabic, Dutch, Scandinavian | Boy | 17 #14 | |
| Mekael | Who is like God? | Amharic, Hebrew | Boy | 15 #15 | |
| Abiy | Great, major | Amharic | Boy | 9 #16 | |
| Berhan | Light; radiance; brightness | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | 5 #17 | |
| Biniam | Son of the right hand | Amharic | Boy | 5 #18 | |
| Negasi | Derived from Ge'ez/Amharic for 'king' - roughly 'he is king' or 'kingly'. | Amharic | Boy | 5 #19 | |
| Abebe | He has blossomed (from Amharic 'abeb' meaning flower/blossom) | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Abibe | Blossomed; flower | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Addisu | New | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Afewerq | Commonly interpreted as "golden" or "of gold" (from werq/werqi = gold) | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Afeworkee | He has done it; accomplished, one who has completed the work | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Afeworki | He who has accomplished or completed the work | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Afworke | Generally understood as 'accomplished' or 'successful' - often interpreted as 'he has achieved' or 'victorious' | Amharic, Semitic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Aklilu | Crown (often interpreted as 'my crown') | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Alemu | World; with the suffix -u often rendered as "his world" or "the world is his". | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Anbesa | Lion | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Anbessa | Lion | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Assefa | He has increased; increase, to add | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Assefaw | He increased; increase, expansion, growth | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Bakaffa | In Kaffa | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Bekele | He has grown; he grew; he became great | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Belay | Above; higher; exalted | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Belaye | Above, high, exalted | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Berhane | His light (light) | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Berhano | Light | Amharic, Tigrinya | Boy | — | |
| Berhanu | Light has come | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Berihunie | Derived from Amharic elements related to 'light' or 'being enlightened' | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Bezai | No widely attested definitive meaning; interpretations vary and the origin is uncertain | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Birhanu | His light | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Daniachew | God is my judge | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Dawyt | Beloved (from the Hebrew name David) | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Demissie | Bringer; one who brings or delivers | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Eskinder | Ethiopian form of Alexander, meaning 'defender of men' or 'protector of mankind'. | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Eskindir | Defender of men (defender of mankind) | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Gashaw | Blessed; fortunate or favored (often understood as 'one who is blessed/favored') | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Gebre | Servant; often used as 'servant of' in compound names (e.g., 'servant of God'). | Amharic | Boy | — | |
| Getachew | The Lord (God) has seen | Amharic | Boy | — |
Amharic Boys name popularity over time
Aggregated births across United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany for every Amharic-origin name in our dataset.
94
Names in this origin
8
With data in 2024
407
Births 2024
881
Peak year 2019