Afrikaans given names draw heavily from Dutch forms and Calvinist tradition, so Biblical names such as Johannes, Jacobus, Petrus, and Anna remain common, alongside Germanic names like Willem and Hendrik. Orthography follows Afrikaans patterns: j represents the English y sound (Jaco, Jan), long vowels appear as aa, ee, oo (Piet, Koos), and k is preferred over c (Karel rather than Carel). Diminutive and affectionate forms often end in -ie (Hennie, Bettie); -tjie is the standard Afrikaans diminutive spelling but is less common in formal given names. Double given names and compounds are frequent, especially feminine blends using -marie or -lize (Annemarie, Annelize, Marlize).
Historical migration left many surnames of Dutch, French Huguenot, and German origin, with prefixes such as van, van der, de, and du (van Wyk, van der Merwe, du Plessis). Modern usage is mixed: traditional Dutch/Biblical forms persist, while English-influenced and global trends introduce new names and spelling variants. There is no single defining pattern across all Afrikaans speakers.
| Name | Meaning | Origins | Gender | Popularity (last 10y) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rian | Commonly interpreted as "little king" (derived from Irish Rían/Ryan); exact etymology uncertain. | Afrikaans, Irish | Unisex | 2,340 #1 | |
| Riaan | Little king / kingly | Afrikaans, Gaelic, Irish | Boy | 1,379 #2 | |
| Jannie | Diminutive of Jan/Jane - 'God is gracious'. | Afrikaans, Dutch, English | Girl | 55 #3 | |
| Divan | From Persian/Arabic diwān (“council, register, collection of poems” or a high official); alternatively used as a variant of Sanskrit Devan meaning “divine, of the gods.” | Afrikaans, Arabic, Indian, Persian, Sanskrit | Boy | 25 #4 | |
| Yolandi | Violet flower | Afrikaans, French, Latin | Girl | 15 #5 | |
| Jurie | Farmer, earth-worker (derived from Georgios/George) | Afrikaans, Dutch, Slavic | Boy | 13 #6 | |
| Jaen | God is gracious | Afrikaans | Boy | 5 #7 | |
| Jorryn | Modern variant with uncertain etymology; possibly related to Jordan ('to flow down') or names derived from George ('farmer'), but meaning is not well established | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | 5 #8 | |
| Adriaana | From the city of Adria; 'dark' or 'from Hadria' | Afrikaans, Latin | Girl | — | |
| Andrie | Manly, brave | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Andries | Manly; 'man' (from Greek root andr-) | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Angerbotha | Likely a compound surname meaning roughly 'Botha from the meadow' - from German 'Anger' (meadow/green) + the Afrikaans surname 'Botha'. | Afrikaans | Unisex | — | |
| Bartho | Son of Talmai (commonly interpreted as 'son of the furrows' or 'son of the farmer') | Afrikaans, Aramaic | Boy | — | |
| Boetie | Affectionate diminutive meaning "little brother" or "bro" | Afrikaans | Boy | — | |
| Bour | Generally associated with 'stream' or 'town' depending on origin; Khmer-specific meaning depends on the original Khmer spelling | Afrikaans, Dutch, English, French, Khmer, Norman | Unisex | — | |
| Charl | Free man (man) | Afrikaans | Boy | — | |
| Charlbi | Unknown | Afrikaans, English | Girl | — | |
| Constansie | Steadfast, constant, faithful | Afrikaans, Dutch, French, Latin | Girl | — | |
| Corne | Derived from Cornelius, from Latin 'cornu' meaning 'horn'. | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Donga | No single established personal-name meaning; often toponymic (from the Donga region/river) or derived from local words meaning a gully/erosion feature; meaning depends on language and context. | Afrikaans | Unisex | — | |
| Elsje | Diminutive of Elisabeth - 'God is my oath' / 'pledged to God' (i.e., 'little Elisabeth') | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Engela | Angel; messenger (of God) | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Engella | Angel; messenger; angelic | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Faf | A pet form of François/Francis - ultimately from a word meaning 'Frenchman' or 'free man'. | Afrikaans | Boy | — | |
| Grietjie | Diminutive of Margaret, meaning "pearl" | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Gys | 'bright pledge' (from Old German elements gisil 'pledge/hostage' + beraht 'bright') | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Gysel | Derived from Old High German gīsal meaning 'pledge' or 'hostage' (often interpreted as 'noble pledge') | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Hanlie | Generally connected to Hannah meaning "grace"; can be seen as a compound form combining elements meaning "grace" and/or related European name elements | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Hardus | Strong, hardy | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Heindrik | Home ruler; ruler of the household | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Henelie | Likely a feminine diminutive/variant of Henry/Hendrik meaning 'home ruler'. | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Hentie | Derived from Hendrik/Henry, meaning 'home ruler' or 'ruler of the household'. | Afrikaans, Germanic | Boy | — | |
| Jakkie | Diminutive of Jacob - 'supplanter' or 'holder of the heel' (little Jacob) | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Jandie | Affectionate diminutive related to Jan/Janet/Janice; ultimately linked to Hebrew meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or used as a modern invented name | Afrikaans, English | Unisex | — | |
| Kallis | Beautiful (from Greek 'kallos') | Afrikaans, Greek | Unisex | — | |
| Kappie | Affectionate diminutive meaning roughly 'little Kap' - likely derived from Dutch kap ('cap') or used as a pet form of names beginning with Kap-/Kapp-; exact literal origin uncertain | Afrikaans, Dutch | Unisex | — | |
| Keet | No single established meaning - typically a short form or nickname; the exact sense depends on the root name it shortens | Afrikaans, Dutch | Unisex | — | |
| Koemie | Likely a diminutive form; often associated with Dutch 'Koen' meaning 'brave/bold' or with similarly spelled names like Japanese 'Kumi' (meanings vary by kanji). | Afrikaans, Dutch, Indonesian | Unisex | — | |
| Kraai | Crow (the bird) | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Lourens | From Laurentum; 'crowned with laurel' | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Manlie | Manly; masculine, strong | Afrikaans, Dutch | Boy | — | |
| Marelie | A modern feminine name combining Maria/Marie with a -lie ending - roughly 'little Mary' or 'Mary + lily' (associative meaning from Maria/Marie) | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Margrietha | Pearl | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Marike | Diminutive of Maria (from Hebrew Miryam), often interpreted as 'beloved' or 'sea of bitterness'. | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Marinde | Uncertain - probably related to Miranda ('admirable, worthy of admiration') or connected to Maria ('bitter' / 'beloved' in Christian usage) | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Marmien | Derived from Maria/Marianne: broadly 'beloved' (Maria) or 'of the sea' (Marina/Marianne); a feminine given name with those associations. | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Maryke | Diminutive of Mary/Maria - 'little Mary' (Mary: possibly 'beloved' or 'sea of bitterness') | Afrikaans, Dutch | Girl | — | |
| Meisie | Little girl; young girl | Afrikaans | Girl | — | |
| Niets | Nothing | Afrikaans, Dutch | Unisex | — | |
| Opa | Informal word for 'grandfather'; can also be an exclamation of celebration in Greek | Afrikaans, Dutch, German | Boy | — |
Aggregated births across United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany for every Afrikaans-origin name in our dataset.
