Africa
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AH-free-kah
- Origin
- Latin
- US rank, 2025
- #10,913 for girls
Africa is a girls' name of Latin origin. In 2025 it ranked 10,913th for girls in the US (8 babies).
What does Africa mean?
Latin: name of the continent, used as a Spanish given name
In Spain it honours Nuestra Señora de África, Our Lady of Africa, patroness of Ceuta.
Is Africa a girl's or a boy's name?
Africa is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Africa in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2000, with 5 girls.
Africa in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | #7,487 |
| 2021 | 4 | #4,864 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 5 | #4,214 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 1 | #5,540 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 5 | #2,907 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
How popular is Africa in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 10,913th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 200,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 8 girls in the US were named Africa, making it the 10,913th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11,085th. Its busiest year was 1972, with 76 girls. It first appears in the records in 1969.
Half of all the girls named Africa in the US since 1880 were born between 1975 and 2001, the years shaded on the chart below.
Africa in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #10,913 |
| 2024 | 5 | #15,288 |
| 2023 | 12 | #8,481 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,050 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,557 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,085 |
| 2019 | 7 | #12,442 |
| 2018 | 7 | #12,459 |
| 2017 | 14 | #7,836 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,109 |
| 2015 | 9 | #10,861 |
| 2014 | 11 | #9,512 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8,131 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,193 |
| 2011 | 10 | #10,370 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,240 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,338 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,404 |
| 2007 | 15 | #8,094 |
| 2006 | 24 | #5,544 |
| 2005 | 7 | #13,003 |
| 2004 | 9 | #10,684 |
| 2003 | 9 | #10,420 |
| 2002 | 6 | #13,589 |
| 2001 | 14 | #7,311 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,802 |
| 1999 | 9 | #9,472 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,119 |
| 1997 | 18 | #5,413 |
| 1996 | 24 | #4,301 |
| 1995 | 25 | #4,094 |
| 1994 | 27 | #3,887 |
| 1993 | 20 | #4,820 |
| 1992 | 20 | #4,842 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,653 |
| 1990 | 14 | #6,125 |
| 1989 | 10 | #7,443 |
| 1988 | 7 | #9,239 |
| 1987 | 8 | #7,982 |
| 1986 | 12 | #5,754 |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,139 |
| 1983 | 10 | #6,210 |
| 1982 | 17 | #4,346 |
| 1981 | 18 | #4,161 |
| 1980 | 19 | #3,991 |
| 1979 | 28 | #2,997 |
| 1978 | 48 | #1,987 |
| 1977 | 34 | #2,515 |
| 1976 | 43 | #2,027 |
| 1975 | 40 | #2,136 |
| 1974 | 35 | #2,254 |
| 1973 | 62 | #1,510 |
| 1972 | 76 | #1,325 |
| 1971 | 53 | #1,709 |
| 1970 | 22 | #3,030 |
| 1969 | 7 | #5,972 |
Names like Africa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Francesca, Serena, Ariana, Aurora, Jessica, Alana, Alora, Alba, Amanda, Lucia, Victoria, Athena
More Latin names
Oliver, Olivia, Leo, Roman, Emily, Florence, Mabel, Luna, Nora, Rosie, Emilia, Max, Nova, Lucy, Julian, Clara
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Africa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/africa, updated 20 October 2026.