Yoruba names
Find a name that tells your story
Answer a few questions about your house, and we’ll help find the names that tell its story — each with its meaning.
How Yoruba baby names are chosen
“Ilé ni à ń wò kí á tó sọ ọmọ lórúkọ” — the state of the house is read before a child is named. A Yoruba name is a record, not a sound: some are fixed by the circumstances of the birth (àmútọ̀runwá — twins, a child born feet-first, a child born after a grandparent’s passing), the given name (àbísọ) is chosen for what the family is living through, and a praise name (oríkì) says what the child is hoped to become. The custom is set out in the 1921 chapter on Yoruba names, free to read.
Common questions
How are Yoruba baby names chosen?
Never for sound alone. Some names are fixed by the circumstances of the birth (àmútọ̀runwá — twins, for example, always carry the same names); the given name (àbísọ) is chosen for what the family is living through — joy, honour, a long-awaited child, trials weathered; and a praise name (oríkì) says what the child is hoped to become.
What are good Yoruba names for a baby girl?
A girl’s name is chosen for what it says, not for how it sounds — gladness in the house, honour restored, a long-awaited child, thanks given, or the memory of someone loved. The finder asks about your family and narrows hundreds of girls’ and unisex names to the ones that carry your story, each with its meaning.
What are good Yoruba names for a baby boy?
A boy’s name is chosen the same way as a girl’s: for the state of the house at his birth, the standing of his family, or a life remembered. Many Yoruba names are unisex, and the finder marks every one as male, female or either.
What names do Yoruba twins receive?
Twins’ names are fixed by the custom, not chosen — the first-born and second-born of twins each carry a specific traditional name, and the children born after twins carry their own. The finder recognises these circumstances and sets those names first.
See also Yoruba names and their meanings · the naming ceremony (ìsọmọlórúkọ) · our illustrated guide on Courses & Ebooks.
