My best friend from middle school is named Adila. She is Pakistani but I believe the name is African. I have always loved it. Good luck to your friend!
You know, your friend might be especially interested in Muslim names from [name]West[/name] [name]Africa[/name]. They were translated from Arabic to fit the phonetics of the local Bantu languages. It would sort of be killing two birds with one stone; she’d get an authentic name from [name]Africa[/name], an Arabic-derived name, and something that honors her faith.
Examples:
Amadou, Mamdou, Hamet [[name]Mohammed[/name]]
Fatoumata [[name]Fatima[/name]]
Salif
Hawa [[name]Eve[/name]]
Youssou [[name]Yusuf[/name]]
Lamine [al-[name]Amin[/name]]
Ousmane [Uthman]
Daouda [[name]Daoud[/name] / [name]David[/name]]
Babakar [abu Bakr]
Idrissa [[name]Idris[/name]]
Alassane [al-[name]Hassan[/name]]
[name]Amina[/name]
[name]Nada[/name], Arabic, “dew at sunrise”
[name]Leila[/name], Persian, “night”
Aini, Arabic, “spring, flower”
Basilah, Arabic, “brave”
Daliyah, Arabic, “grape vine”
Durrah, Arabic, “pearl”
[name]Fatima[/name], Arabic, daughter of the prophet
[name]Farah[/name], Arabic, “joy, cheerfulness”
[name]Noor[/name], Persian, “light”
Maliheh, Persian, “beautiful”
Nasreen, Persian, “a wild rose”
Sadaf, Persian, “sea shell”
Middle name possibilities:
[name]Amadi[/name] “free man”
[name]Ebele[/name] “mercy, kindness”
[name]Eshe[/name] “life”
[name]Ife[/name] “love”
[name]Kamali[/name] “protector”
[name]Marjani[/name] “coral”
[name]Neela[/name] “sapphire blue”
[name]Nemy[/name] “sweet”
[name]Subira[/name] “patience”
Combos:
[name]Nada[/name] [name]Kamali[/name]
[name]Leila[/name] [name]Eshe[/name]
Aini [name]Neela[/name]
Basilah [name]Amadi[/name]
Daliyah [name]Nemy[/name]
Durrah [name]Ife[/name]
[name]Fatima[/name] [name]Eshe[/name]
[name]Farah[/name] [name]Ebele[/name]
[name]Noor[/name] [name]Kamali[/name]
Maliheh [name]Eshe[/name]
Nasreen [name]Ife[/name]
Sadaf [name]Marjani[/name]
I hope this helps!
Thank you so much, I’ll narrow in on [name]West[/name] African name ideas, and show her these ideas. I’ll update on which ones she likes.
Thanks so much everyone.
We’re pretty sure she’s having a boy, so we’ve tailored our attentions towards that. She’s currently in labour, so if it turns out to be a girl I’ll be back visiting these names!
EDIT: Whoops, forgot about this thread, she had a baby boy! So no need for this thread, thanks for all the suggestions though!