Kweli
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KWEH-lee
- Origin
- Swahili
Kweli is a boys' name of Swahili origin, meaning “truth”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Kweli mean?
Swahili: Swahili kweli
“truth”
From Swahili kweli, meaning truth or true.
Is Kweli a girl's or a boy's name?
Kweli is a boys' name.
How popular is Kweli in the US?
No boys in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2003, with 34 boys. It first appears in the records in 2000.
Half of all the boys named Kweli in the US since 1880 were born between 2003 and 2012, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kweli in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | #12,232 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 7 | #9,548 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 6 | #10,754 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 12 | #6,721 |
| 2015 | 10 | #7,486 |
| 2014 | 6 | #10,711 |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 6 | #10,763 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,072 |
| 2010 | 12 | #6,692 |
| 2009 | 12 | #6,798 |
| 2008 | 7 | #9,864 |
| 2007 | 11 | #7,090 |
| 2006 | 14 | #5,777 |
| 2005 | 13 | #5,869 |
| 2004 | 16 | #5,002 |
| 2003 | 34 | #2,843 |
| 2002 | 12 | #5,718 |
| 2001 | 25 | #3,405 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
Names like Kweli
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kobe Omari Kamari Kai Koa Makai Keanu Kayden Obi Keoni Amari Mekhi
Names related to Kweli
More Swahili names
Zuri Imani Malaika Emani Jabari Zhuri Imara Maisha Asante Imaani Malaikah Taraji Xuri Zuriyah Johari Simba
Sources
Figures from 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, “Kweli: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kweli, updated 20 October 2026.