Top African Last Names, Surnames, or Family Names

Discover a curated list of the most common and popular  African surnames, their meanings, and cultural significance. These family names reflect the rich heritage and history of  Africa.

10 Most Common Last Names in Africa.

1. Abebe 
2. Mensah 
3. Kamara 
4. Oluwafemi
5. Ngugi 
6. Ndlovu 
7. Diallo
8. Hassan 
9. Mugabe 
10. Amara

Explore the top 10 last names frequently found in Africa. These surnames hold a special place in African culture and often have fascinating origins:

Here’s a broader collection of notable Arabic last names that carry historical and cultural significance. Whether you’re exploring heritage or just curious, these surnames tell stories of professions, regions, and legacies.

1. Abass
2. Abate
3. Abba
4. Abbas
5. Abdala
6. Abdalla
7. Abdallah
8. Abdel
9. Abdela
10. Abdelaziz
11. Abdelrahman
12. Abdi
13. Abdo
14. Abdou
15. Abdoulaye
16. Abdu
17. Abdul
18. Abdulahi
19. Abdulkadir
20. Abdullah
21. Abdullahi
22. Abdulrahman
23. Abeba
24. Abebe
25. Abebech
26. Abel
27. Abera
28. Aberash
29. Abou
30. Aboubacar
31. Abraham
32. Abreham
33. Abu
34. Abubakar
35. Achieng
36. Adam
37. Adamou
38. Adams
39. Adamu
40. Adan
41. Adane
42. Adanech
43. Addo
44. Adebayo
45. Adel
46. Adeleke
47. Adem
48. Aden
49. Adeniyi
50. Adeyemi
51. Adhiambo
52. Adjei
53. Ado
54. Adoum
55. Adu
56. Adugna
57. Afolabi
58. Afonso
59. Agbo
60. Agostinho
61. Agu
62. Ahamed
63. Ahmad
64. Ahmadu
65. Ahmat
66. Ahmed
67. Ait
68. Ajayi
69. Akello
70. Akinyi
71. Akpan
72. Alaa
73. Alabi
74. Alamin
75. Alaoui
76. Alasid
77. Alberto
78. Alem
79. Alemayehu
80. Alemitu
81. Alemu
82. Alex
83. Alexandre
84. Alfred
85. Alhaji
86. Alhassan
87. Ali
88. Aliyu
89. Allam
90. Ally
91. Almaz
92. Almeida
93. Aly
94. Amadi
95. Amadou
96. Amadu
97. Aman
98. Amani
99. Amare
100. Amer
101. Amin
102. Amina
103. Aminu
104. Amir
105. Ammar
106. Amoah
107. Amos
108. Ana
109. André
110. Andrew
111. Ani
112. Anthony
113. Antonio
114. António
115. Antwi
116. Anwar
117. Anyango
118. Anyanwu
119. Apio
120. Appiah
121. Aregash
122. Arthur
123. Asamoah
124. Asante
125. Asare
126. Asefa
127. Asegedech
128. Aselefech
129. Asfaw
130. Ashenafi
131. Ashraf
132. Asiimwe
133. Askale
134. Asnakech
135. Asrat
136. Assefa
137. Aster
138. Atef
139. Athumani
140. Atieno
141. Atsede
142. Attia
143. Audu
144. Augustine
145. Augusto
146. Auma
147. Auwal
148. Awad
149. Ayalew
150. Ayele
151. Ayelech
152. Ayman
153. Aynalem
154. Ayuba
155. Azeez
156. Aziz
157. Ba
158. Baba
159. Babatunde
160. Babiker
161. Badr
162. Bah
163. Bahati
164. Bakari
165. Bako
166. Bala
167. Balde
168. Balogun
169. Baloyi
170. Bamba
171. Banda
172. Banga
173. Bangoura
174. Bangura
175. Banza
176. Banze
177. Baptista
178. Barasa
179. Barry
180. Bashir
181. Bassey
182. Bawa
183. Bekele
184. Bekelech
185. Belay
186. Belaynesh
187. Belete
188. Bello
189. Ben
190. Benjamin
191. Berhane
192. Berhanu
193. Berhe
194. Bernardo
195. Beyene
196. Bigirimana
197. Bila
198. Bilal
199. Birhanu
200. Bizimana
201. Bizunesh
202. Boateng
203. Bogale
204. Bol
205. Botha
206. Bouba
207. Boubacar
208. Boukari
209. Brahim
210. Buba
211. Bukar
212. Buthelezi
213. Bwalya
214. Camara
215. Câmara
216. Cardoso
217. Carlos
218. Chacha
219. Chaibou
220. Charles
221. Chebet
222. Cherif
223. Cheruiyot
224. Chirwa
225. Chol
226. Christopher
227. Chukwu
228. Chuol
229. Cisse
230. Clement
231. Compaore
232. Conde
233. Conteh
234. Correia
235. Cossa
236. Coulibaly
237. da Costa
238. da Silva
239. Dabo
240. Dada
241. Dahir
242. Dahiru
243. Daka
244. Daniel
245. Danjuma
246. Danladi
247. Dao
248. Daoud
249. Dau
250. Daud
251. Dauda
252. Daudi
253. David
254. Dawit
255. de Sousa
256. Dejene
257. Dembele
258. Deng
259. Dereje
260. Desalegn
261. Desta
262. Dia
263. Diab
264. Diabate
265. Diaby
266. Diagne
267. Diakite
268. Diallo
269. Diarra
270. Dias
271. Diawara
272. Dicko
273. Dickson
274. Dieng
275. Dike
276. Diomande
277. Diop
278. Diouf
279. Djibo
280. Dlamini
281. Domingos
282. dos Santos
283. Doumbia
284. Doumbouya
285. Drame
286. Dube
287. Ebrahim
288. Edem
289. Edet
290. Edward
291. Effiong
292. Eid
293. Eke
294. Elamin
295. Elhassan
296. Elias
297. Elsayed
298. Eltayeb
299. Emad
300. Emam
301. Emebet
302. Emmanuel
303. Endale
304. Eric
305. Eshetu
306. Essam
307. Etenesh
308. Etim
309. Eze
310. Ezekiel
311. Ezzat
312. Fahmy
313. Fall
314. Farag
315. Farah
316. Farouk
317. Fathi
318. Fathy
319. Fatuma
320. Fawzy
321. Faye
322. Fekadu
323. Felix
324. Fernandes
325. Fernando
326. Ferreira
327. Fikadu
328. Filipe
329. Fofana
330. Fouad
331. Francis
332. Francisco
333. Friday
334. Frimpong
335. Furaha
336. Gaber
337. Gabriel
338. Gad
339. Gai
340. Galal
341. Gama
342. Gamal
343. Gambo
344. Garang
345. Garba
346. Gashaw
347. Gaspar
348. Gatluak
349. Gaye
350. Genet
351. George
352. Getachew
353. Getahun
354. Getu
355. Girma
356. Godwin
357. Goma
358. Gomes
359. Gonçalves
360. Gondwe
361. Gueye
362. Guindo
363. Gumede
364. Habib
365. Habibu
366. Habimana
367. Habtamu
368. Hagos
369. Haile
370. Hailu
371. Haji
372. Hakizimana
373. Hamad
374. Hamada
375. Hamadou
376. Hamdi
377. Hamdy
378. Hamed
379. Hamid
380. Hamidou
381. Hamisi
382. Hamisu
383. Hamza
384. Hany
385. Haroun
386. Harouna
387. Haruna
388. Hasan
389. Hashim
390. Hassan
391. Hassane
392. Hassani
393. Hassen
394. Hawa
395. Hegazy
396. Helmy
397. Hien
398. Hussaini
399. Hussein
400. Hussen
401. Hussien
402. Ibe
403. Ibrahim
404. Idi
405. Idowu
406. Idris
407. Idriss
408. Idrissa
409. Igwe
410. Ilboudo
411. Ilunga
412. Ingabire
413. Innocent
414. Isa
415. Isaac
416. Isah
417. Islam
418. Ismael
419. Ismail
420. Issa
421. Issaka
422. Issoufou
423. Jackson
424. Jacob
425. Jacobs
426. Jalloh
427. Jama
428. Jamal
429. James
430. Jamilu
431. Jean
432. Jemal
433. Jibril
434. Jibrin
435. Jimoh
436. Joao
437. João
438. Joaquim
439. Joel
440. John
441. Johnson
442. Jonas
443. Jonathan
444. Jorge
445. José
446. Joseph
447. Joshua
448. Julius
449. Juma
450. Junior
451. Ka
452. Kaba
453. Kabamba
454. Kabange
455. Kabeya
456. Kabir
457. Kabiru
458. Kabore
459. Kabwe
460. Kaimba
461. Kalenga
462. Kalu
463. Kalunga
464. Kamal
465. Kamanga
466. Kamara
467. Kamau
468. Kambou
469. Kamel
470. Kane
471. Kanku
472. Kante
473. Kanu
474. Kapinga
475. Kareem
476. Kargbo
477. Karim
478. Kariuki
479. Kasongo
480. Kassa
481. Kassahun
482. Kassim
483. Kayembe
484. Kayumba
485. Kazadi
486. Kebede
487. Kedir
488. Keita
489. Keïta
490. Ketema
491. Khaled
492. Khalid
493. Khalifa
494. Khalil
495. Khamis
496. Khan
497. Khoza
498. Khumalo
499. Kibet
500. Kidane
501. Kimani
502. Kisimba
503. Koffi
504. Komba
505. Konan
506. Konate
507. Kone
508. Kongbo
509. Koroma
510. Kossi
511. Kouadio
512. Kouakou
513. Kouame
514. Kouassi
515. Kourouma
516. Kunda
517. Kuol
518. Kwizera
519. Kyungu
520. Lam
521. Langa
522. Lawal
523. Lawali
524. Lawan
525. Legesse
526. Lema
527. Lemma
528. Lopes
529. Lourenço
530. Lual
531. Lucas
532. Luís
533. Luka
534. Lungu
535. Ly
536. Macamo
537. Macharia
538. Machava
539. Macuacua
540. Magaji
541. Magdy
542. Mahamadou
543. Mahamat
544. Mahamed
545. Maher
546. Mahlangu
547. Mahmoud
548. Mahmud
549. Maiga
550. Maina
551. Majok
552. Malik
553. Maloba
554. Malual
555. Mamadou
556. Maman
557. Mamane
558. Mamdouh
559. Mamman
560. Mamo
561. Mamoudou
562. Manda
563. Mandaba
564. Mande
565. Mane
566. Manga
567. Manirakiza
568. Manjate
569. Mansaray
570. Mansour
571. Manuel
572. Marie
573. Mark
574. Martin
575. Martins
576. Maseko
577. Mateus
578. Mathew
579. Mathias
580. Matondo
581. Matsinhe
582. Mba
583. Mbabazi
584. Mbatha
585. Mbaye
586. Mbayo
587. Mbewe
588. Mbombo
589. Mbuyi
590. Mbuyu
591. Mekonen
592. Mekonnen
593. Melaku
594. Melese
595. Mendes
596. Mengistu
597. Mensah
598. Meseret
599. Mesfin
600. Michael
601. Micheal
602. Mido
603. Miguel
604. Mkandawire
605. Mkhize
606. Mofokeng
607. Moges
608. Mohamed
609. Mohamedi
610. Mohammad
611. Mohammed
612. Mohamud
613. Mohmed
614. Mohsen
615. Mokhtar
616. Mokoena
617. Molla
618. Momoh
619. Monday
620. Mondlane
621. Monga
622. Monteiro
623. Morais
624. Moses
625. Mostafa
626. Mousa
627. Moussa
628. Moyo
629. Mpofu
630. Mputu
631. Mthembu
632. Muazu
633. Muchanga
634. Mugisha
635. Muhammad
636. Muhammadu
637. Muhammed
638. Muhumed
639. Mujinga
640. Mukalay
641. Mukhtar
642. Muktar
643. Mulenga
644. Mulu
645. Mulugeta
646. Mulunesh
647. Mumba
648. Murtala
649. Musa
650. Musonda
651. Mussa
652. Mustafa
653. Mustapha
654. Muthoni
655. Mutombo
656. Mutua
657. Mwale
658. Mwamba
659. Mwangi
660. Mwanza
661. Mwape
662. Mwenda
663. Nabil
664. Nahimana
665. Naidoo
666. Namkoisse
667. Nana
668. Nasir
669. Nasiru
670. Nasr
671. Nasser
672. Ncube
673. Ndao
674. Ndayishimiye
675. Ndhlovu
676. Ndiaye
677. Ndikumana
678. Ndlovu
679. Ndong
680. Nduwimana
681. Negash
682. Neto
683. Ngaba
684. Ngalula
685. Ngcobo
686. Ngoie
687. Ngom
688. Ngoma
689. Ngoy
690. Ngoyi
691. N’Guessan
692. Ngwenya
693. Nhantumbo
694. Niang
695. Nigussie
696. Nikiema
697. Niyongabo
698. Niyonkuru
699. Niyonzima
700. Njeri
701. Njoku
702. Njoroge
703. Njuguna
704. Nkhoma
705. Nkosi
706. Nkulu
707. Nkurunziza
708. Noor
709. Nour
710. Nsabimana
711. Nsenga
712. Nsengiyumva
713. Nshimirimana
714. Nsimba
715. Ntumba
716. Nuhu
717. Numbi
718. Nura
719. Nwachukwu
720. Nwafor
721. Nwankwo
722. Nweke
723. Nwosu
724. Nxumalo
725. Nyirenda
726. Nzeyimana
727. Nzuzi
728. Obeng
729. Obi
730. Ochieng
731. Odhiambo
732. Odongo
733. Ofori
734. Ogbonna
735. Ohakwu
736. Ojo
737. Okafor
738. Oke
739. Okeke
740. Okello
741. Okon
742. Okonkwo
743. Okorie
744. Okoro
745. Okoye
746. Oliveira
747. Omar
748. Omari
749. Omary
750. Omer
751. Omondi
752. Onuoha
753. Onyango
754. Opara
755. Opoku
756. Orji
757. Osama
758. Osei
759. Osman
760. Othman
761. Otieno
762. Ouattara
763. Ouedraogo
764. Ouma
765. Oumar
766. Oumarou
767. Ousman
768. Ousmane
769. Owusu
770. Pascoal
771. Patrick
772. Paul
773. Paulo
774. Pedro
775. Pereira
776. Peter
777. Petro
778. Phiri
779. Pinto
780. Rabiu
781. Radwan
782. Rafanomezantsoa
783. Ragab
784. Raharimalala
785. Rahman
786. Rajabu
787. Raji
788. Rakoto
789. Rakotoarimanana
790. Rakotoarisoa
791. Rakotoarison
792. Rakotomalala
793. Rakotoniaina
794. Rakotonirina
795. Ramadan
796. Ramadhani
797. Ranaivoson
798. Randrianantenaina
799. Randrianarisoa
800. Randrianarison
801. Randrianasolo
802. Raphael
803. Rashid
804. Rashidi
805. Ratsimbazafy
806. Razafindrakoto
807. Reda
808. Richard
809. Robert
810. Rodriguês
811. Saad
812. Saber
813. Sabo
814. Sabry
815. Sacko
816. Sadiq
817. Saeed
818. Said
819. Saidi
820. Saidou
821. Saidu
822. Sakala
823. Salah
824. Salama
825. Salami
826. Sale
827. Saleh
828. Salem
829. Saley
830. Salih
831. Salihu
832. Salim
833. Salisu
834. Sall
835. Salum
836. Salumu
837. Sam
838. Samaila
839. Samake
840. Samba
841. Sambo
842. Sami
843. Samir
844. Samson
845. Samuel
846. Samwel
847. Samy
848. Sanga
849. Sangare
850. Sani
851. Sanni
852. Sanogo
853. Sanou
854. Sántos
855. Sanusi
856. Sarr
857. Savadogo
858. Sawadogo
859. Sayed
860. Sebastião
861. Seck
862. Seid
863. Selemani
864. Sene
865. Sesay
866. Seyoum
867. Shaaban
868. Shaban
869. Shabani
870. Shaibu
871. Sharif
872. Shawky
873. Shehu
874. Sheikh
875. Sherif
876. Shewaye
877. Shiferaw
878. Shuaibu
879. Sibanda
880. Sibiya
881. Sidibe
882. Silue
883. Simiyu
884. Simon
885. Singa
886. Singh
887. Sisay
888. Sissoko
889. Sithole
890. Sitoe
891. Smith
892. Soliman
893. Solomon
894. Some
895. Soro
896. Souley
897. Soumah
898. Sow
899. Stephen
900. Sulaiman
901. Sule
902. Suleiman
903. Suleman
904. Suliman
905. Sultan
906. Sunday
907. Sy
908. Sylla
909. Tadele
910. Tadesse
911. Taha
912. Taher
913. Tahir
914. Taiwo
915. Tall
916. Tamboura
917. Tanko
918. Tarek
919. Tariku
920. Tavares
921. Taye
922. Tefera
923. Teixeira
924. Tekle
925. Tembe
926. Tembo
927. Temesgen
928. Tesfay
929. Tesfaye
930. Teshome
931. Tetteh
932. Thiam
933. Thomas
934. Tigist
935. Tijani
936. Tilahun
937. Toure
938. Traore
939. Tsegaye
940. Tsehay
941. Tshibola
942. Tsige
943. Tukur
944. Turay
945. Tut
946. Uche
947. Udo
948. Udoh
949. Ugwu
950. Umar
951. Umaru
952. Umba
953. Usman
954. Uwimana
955. Vaz
956. Victor
957. Wafula
958. Wambui
959. Wanjala
960. Wanjiku
961. Warsame
962. William
963. Williams
964. Wilson
965. Worku
966. Yacouba
967. Yahaya
968. Yahia
969. Yahya
970. Yakubu
971. Yao
972. Yasin
973. Yassin
974. Yau
975. Yaya
976. Yeboah
977. Yemane
978. Yeo
979. Yeshi
980. Yohannes
981. Yousef
982. Yousif
983. Youssef
984. Youssouf
985. Yunusa
986. Yussuf
987. Yusuf
988. Zakari
989. Zakaria
990. Zaki
991. Zelalem
992. Zeleke
993. Zenebech
994. Zerihun
995. Zewdie
996. Zewdu
997. Zimba
998. Zongo
999. Zulu

Most Common Last Names by Country of Origin

If you’re interested in exploring surnames from different parts of the world, check out these popular last names by country: