Chimamanda
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- chee-ma-MAN-da
- Origin
- Igbo
- UK rank, 2025
- #590 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #4,757 for girls
Chimamanda is a girls' name of Igbo origin, meaning “my personal god will not fail”. In 2025 it ranked 590th for girls in the UK (72 babies) and 4,757th for girls in the US (28 babies).
What does Chimamanda mean?
Igbo: Igbo name built on chi, personal god or spirit
“my personal god will not fail”
Associated with the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Half of a Yellow Sun.
Is Chimamanda a girl's or a boy's name?
Chimamanda is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 72 girls in the UK and 28 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Chimamanda in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 590th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 72 about 1 in 3,900 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 206% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 72 girls in the UK were named Chimamanda, making it the 590th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,780th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 74 girls.
Half of all the girls named Chimamanda in the UK since 1996 were born between 2018 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 596th in England and Wales, 632nd in Scotland and 397th in Northern Ireland.
Chimamanda in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 72 | #590 |
| 2024 | 74 | #576 |
| 2023 | 56 | #699 |
| 2022 | 40 | #936 |
| 2021 | 25 | #1,353 |
| 2020 | 17 | #1,780 |
| 2019 | 24 | #1,403 |
| 2018 | 25 | #1,375 |
| 2017 | 18 | #1,763 |
| 2016 | 17 | #1,853 |
| 2015 | 18 | #1,739 |
| 2014 | 11 | #2,462 |
| 2013 | 11 | #2,454 |
| 2012 | 8 | #3,148 |
| 2011 | 8 | #3,041 |
| 2010 | 5 | #4,220 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 4 | #4,742 |
How popular is Chimamanda in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,757th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 28 about 1 in 57,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 30% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 28 girls in the US were named Chimamanda, making it the 4,757th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,840th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 60 girls. It first appears in the records in 2008.
Half of all the girls named Chimamanda in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Chimamanda in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | #4,757 |
| 2024 | 32 | #4,386 |
| 2023 | 33 | #4,274 |
| 2022 | 27 | #4,904 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4,829 |
| 2020 | 37 | #3,840 |
| 2019 | 35 | #4,071 |
| 2018 | 60 | #2,809 |
| 2017 | 55 | #2,964 |
| 2016 | 34 | #4,249 |
| 2015 | 43 | #3,595 |
| 2014 | 31 | #4,542 |
| 2013 | 32 | #4,420 |
| 2012 | 26 | #5,251 |
| 2011 | 14 | #8,192 |
| 2010 | 14 | #8,267 |
| 2009 | 7 | #13,698 |
| 2008 | 6 | #15,399 |
Names like Chimamanda
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Tiaraoluwa, Munachimso, Chioma, Ireoluwa, Chizaram, Kamsiyochukwu, Inioluwa, Adesuwa, Chizara, Chidera, Chikaima, Araoluwa
More Igbo names
Amara, Jidenna, Amarachi, Tobechukwu, Obi, Mazi, Adanna, Adaeze, Chidubem, Ifechukwu, Chisom, Tobenna, Chiziterem, Naetochukwu, Lotanna, Somtochukwu
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, “Chimamanda: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/chimamanda, updated 20 October 2026.