lastnamegenerators

Ethiopian Last Names

Ethiopian last names work differently from most: a person's second name is usually the father's given name, not a family name. This list shows common Amharic, Oromo and Tigrinya names with their meanings.

162 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Abate አባቴ

    My father

  • Abebe አበበ

    He blossomed, flowered

  • Abera አበራ

    He shone, lit up

  • Abiy አብይ

    Great, big

  • Abraha አብርሃ

    He illuminated, in Tigrinya

  • Abraham አብርሃም

    Abraham

  • Adane አዳነ

    He saved

  • Afework አፈወርቅ

    Golden mouth; eloquent

  • Ahmed አሕመድ

    Most praised, from Arabic

  • Aklilu አክሊሉ

    His crown

  • Alemayehu ዓለማየሁ

    I have seen the world

  • Alemu ዓለሙ

    His world; the world

  • Amanuel አማኑኤል

    Emmanuel, God is with us

  • Amare አማረ

    He was beautiful

  • Araya ኣርኣያ

    Model, example, in Tigrinya

  • Asfaw አስፋው

    Expand it, broaden it

  • Ashenafi አሸናፊ

    Winner, victor

  • Asmelash አስመላሽ

    Restorer, one who brings back

  • Asrat አሥራት

    Tithe

  • Assefa አሰፋ

    He broadened, expanded

  • Ayana አያና

    Grace, fortune, from Oromo ayyaana

  • Ayele አየለ

    He became strong, prevailed

B

  • Befekadu በፈቃዱ

    By his will

  • Bekele በቀለ

    He sprouted, grew

  • Belay በላይ

    Above, superior

  • Belayneh በላይነህ

    You are superior

  • Berhane ብርሃነ

    Light of

  • Berhanu ብርሃኑ

    His light

  • Berhe በርሀ

    Light, in Tigrinya

  • Birru ብሩ

    His silver

  • Bizuneh ብዙነህ

    You are many, abundant

  • Bulcha ቡልቻ

    Possibly ruler, from Oromo bulchaa

C

  • Chala ጫላ

    Surpassing, better, in Oromo

D

  • Dadi ዳዲ

    Honey wine, from Oromo daadhii

  • Dawit ዳዊት

    David

  • Degefa ደገፋ

    He supported

  • Demeke ደመቀ

    He shone, became bright

  • Demissie ደምሴ

    Possibly vanquisher, one who crushes foes

  • Deressa ደረሳ

    Possibly he arrived, in Oromo usage

  • Desta ደስታ

    Joy, happiness

  • Dibaba ዲባባ

    Oromo name of uncertain meaning

E

  • Endale እንዳለ

    As he is; as it is

  • Eshetu እሸቱ

    His fresh green grain

F

  • Fantahun ፋንታሁን

    Be a replacement

  • Fayisa ፋይሳ

    Healer, savior, in Oromo

  • Fekadu ፈቃዱ

    His will

  • Fikre ፍቅሬ

    My love

  • Fikru ፍቅሩ

    His love

  • Fisseha ፍሥሐ

    Joy

G

  • Gashaw ጋሻው

    His shield

  • Gebre ገብረ

    Servant of, in Ge'ez

  • Gebreegziabher ገብረእግዚአብሔር

    Servant of God

  • Gebrehiwot ገብረሕይወት

    Servant of life

  • Gebrekidan ገብረኪዳን

    Servant of the covenant

  • Gebremariam ገብረማርያም

    Servant of Mary

  • Gebremedhin ገብረመድኅን

    Servant of the Savior

  • Gebremeskel ገብረመስቀል

    Servant of the Cross

  • Gebremichael ገብረሚካኤል

    Servant of Saint Michael

  • Gebreselassie ገብረሥላሴ

    Servant of the Trinity

  • Gebreyohannes ገብረዮሐንስ

    Servant of Saint John

  • Gebru ገብሩ

    His servant

  • Gemechu ገመቹ

    Joy, from Oromo gammachuu

  • Getachew ጌታቸው

    Their lord, their master

  • Getahun ጌታሁን

    Be a lord

  • Girma ግርማ

    Majesty, awe

  • Gudina ጉዲና

    Growth, from Oromo guddina

H

  • Haddis ሐዲስ

    New

  • Hagos ሓጎስ

    Joy, in Tigrinya

  • Haile ኃይሌ

    Power, might

  • Haileab ኃይለአብ

    Power of the Father

  • Hailegiorgis ኃይለጊዮርጊስ

    Power of Saint George

  • Hailemariam ኃይለማርያም

    Power of Mary

  • Hailemichael ኃይለሚካኤል

    Power of Saint Michael

  • Haileselassie ኃይለሥላሴ

    Power of the Trinity

  • Hailu ኃይሉ

    His power

J

  • Jemal ጀማል

    Beauty, from Arabic jamal

K

  • Kahsay ካሕሳይ

    My compensation, in Tigrinya

  • Kassa ካሳ

    Compensation

  • Kassahun ካሳሁን

    Be compensation

  • Kebede ከበደ

    He became weighty, honored

  • Kidanemariam ኪዳነማርያም

    Covenant of Mary

  • Kifle ክፍሌ

    My share, my portion

  • Kinfe ክንፌ

    My wing

  • Kiros ኪሮስ

    Tigrinya name, possibly from Cyrus

L

  • Legesse ለገሰ

    He gave generously

  • Lemma ለማ

    Flourishing, fertile

M

  • Mamo ማሞ

    Little boy, an affectionate name

  • Mebrahtu መብራህቱ

    His light, in Tigrinya

  • Mehari መሓሪ

    Merciful, in Tigrinya

  • Mekonnen መኮንን

    Officer, nobleman

  • Mekuria መኩሪያ

    Source of pride

  • Menelik ምኒልክ

    Traditionally son of the wise man

  • Mengesha መንገሻ

    Reigning, crowning

  • Mengistu መንግሥቱ

    His kingdom, his government

  • Mersha መርሻ

    Consolation; that which makes one forget grief

  • Mesfin መስፍን

    Prince, duke

  • Mitiku ምትኩ

    His replacement

  • Moges ሞገስ

    Grace, favor

  • Molla ሞላ

    He filled, was full

  • Mulatu ሙላቱ

    His fullness

  • Mulu ሙሉ

    Full, complete

  • Mulugeta ሙሉጌታ

    Complete master, full lord

N

  • Negasa ነጋሳ

    From Oromo nagaa, peace

  • Negash ነጋሽ

    Ruler, king

  • Negasi ንጋሲ

    King, in Tigrinya

  • Negussie ንጉሤ

    My king

  • Nigatu ንጋቱ

    His dawn

O

  • Obsa ኦብሳ

    Patience, in Oromo

S

  • Sahle ሣህለ

    Grace of, in Ge'ez

  • Seifu ሰይፉ

    His sword

  • Shiferaw ሽፈራው

    Thousands fear him

  • Solomon ሰሎሞን

    Solomon, linked to the Solomonic dynasty

T

  • Tadele ታደለ

    He was fortunate

  • Tadesse ታደሰ

    He was renewed

  • Tamene ታመነ

    He was trusted

  • Tamirat ታምራት

    Miracles

  • Tamiru ታምሩ

    His miracle

  • Tariku ታሪኩ

    His history, his story

  • Taye ታዬ

    He was seen, appeared

  • Tefera ተፈራ

    He was feared, respected

  • Tekalign ተካልኝ

    Replace for me

  • Tekeste ተከስተ

    He was revealed

  • Teklay ተኽላይ

    My plant, in Tigrinya

  • Tekle ተክለ

    Plant of, in Ge'ez

  • Teklehaimanot ተክለሃይማኖት

    Plant of faith

  • Teklemariam ተክለማርያም

    Plant of Mary

  • Tesfahun ተስፋሁን

    Be hope

  • Tesfamariam ተስፋማርያም

    Hope of Mary

  • Tesfamichael ተስፋሚካኤል

    Hope of Saint Michael

  • Tesfaye ተስፋዬ

    My hope

  • Tesfu ተስፉ

    His hope

  • Teshome ተሾመ

    He was appointed

  • Tessema ተሰማ

    He was heard

  • Tewodros ቴዎድሮስ

    Theodore, gift of God

  • Tewolde ተወልደ

    He was born

  • Tilahun ጥላሁን

    Be a shade, a protector

  • Tolera ቶለራ

    Possibly one who does well, in Oromo

  • Tolosa ቶሎሳ

    Possibly from Oromo tola, good

  • Tsegay ጸጋይ

    My grace, in Tigrinya

  • Tsegaye ፀጋዬ

    My grace

  • Tsehay ፀሐይ

    Sun

  • Tsige ጽጌ

    Flower, rose

W

  • Wakjira ዋቅጂራ

    God exists, from Oromo Waaq jira

  • Welday ወልዳይ

    My son, in Tigrinya

  • Weldu ወልዱ

    His son, in Tigrinya

  • Wolde ወልደ

    Son of, in Ge'ez

  • Woldegiorgis ወልደጊዮርጊስ

    Son of Saint George

  • Woldemariam ወልደማርያም

    Son of Mary

  • Woldemichael ወልደሚካኤል

    Son of Saint Michael

  • Wondimu ወንድሙ

    His brother

  • Workneh ወርቅነህ

    You are gold

  • Worku ወርቁ

    His gold

  • Wube ውቤ

    My beauty

  • Wubshet ውብሸት

    Beauty

Y

  • Yared ያሬድ

    Jared; saint of Ethiopian church music

  • Yemane የማነ

    Right hand; righteous, in Tigrinya

  • Yilma ይልማ

    May he prosper

  • Yirga ይርጋ

    May it settle; calm

  • Yohannes ዮሐንስ

    John

Z

  • Zeleke ዘለቀ

    He endured, lasted

  • Zerihun ዘርሁን

    Be a seed, be offspring

  • Zewdu ዘውዱ

    His crown

Generate random ethiopian surnames

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Results (6)

  • Tesfamichael

    ተስፋሚካኤል

    Hope of Saint Michael

    African

  • Haileselassie

    ኃይለሥላሴ

    Power of the Trinity

    African

  • Hailu

    ኃይሉ

    His power

    African

  • Kassa

    ካሳ

    Compensation

    African

  • Mitiku

    ምትኩ

    His replacement

    African

  • Gebremariam

    ገብረማርያም

    Servant of Mary

    African

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    How Ethiopian last names follow the father

    Ethiopia and Eritrea use a patronymic system. A child receives a given name, followed by the father's given name and, on formal documents, the grandfather's. The runner Haile Gebrselassie is Haile, son of Gebrselassie, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is Abiy, son of Ahmed. Because the second name changes every generation, a family does not share one surname, and in Western terms a father and son have different last names.

    Women keep their own names for life. A married woman does not take her husband's name, because her second name identifies her father, not a household. People are addressed by the given name with a title, so Haile Gebrselassie is Ato Haile, and a married woman named Tigist is Weyzero Tigist. Calling someone by the second name alone would be like calling them by their father's first name, which sounds odd or even confusing.

    Meanings of common Ethiopian names

    Many Amharic and Tigrinya names are religious compounds. Gebre means servant of, Wolde son of, Haile power of and Tekle plant of, so Gebremariam (ገብረማርያም) is servant of Mary, Woldegiorgis son of George, Hailemariam power of Mary and Teklehaimanot plant of faith. These names come from the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition and are written in the Ge'ez script, known as fidel. Because they so often appear as a father's name, they are among the most familiar second names you will see.

    Other names are single words with a personal meaning. Tesfaye (ተስፋዬ) means my hope, Alemu his world, Bekele he has grown, Girma majesty, Desta joy, Berhanu his light, Worku his gold and Mulugeta complete lord. Oromo names such as Tolosa, Gemechu, Lemma and Fayisa, and Muslim names such as Ahmed and Mohammed, are also common. Parents often choose a name that marks the circumstances of a birth, a family hope or a prayer of thanks.

    Using these names abroad and in writing

    When Ethiopians move to countries that expect a fixed surname, the father's name usually goes in the last name box. In the next generation, children born abroad may be given the father's given name as their surname, or the family may choose the grandfather's name as a permanent family name so parents and siblings match. That is why you will find diaspora families in Washington, Toronto and London sharing a name like Tesfaye or Kebede across generations.

    Spelling varies because the fidel script has sounds that English letters handle poorly. Tesfaye may appear as Tesfay, Wolde as Wolda, and Gebre as Gabre. Compound names are sometimes split, so Gebremedhin becomes Gebre Medhin. When you use the list for a story, pair a given name with a father's name that suits the family's faith and region, since an Orthodox family from Amhara, an Oromo family and a Muslim family from Harar would often choose quite different names.

    Frequently asked questions

    Do Ethiopian last names pass down in families?

    Traditionally they do not. The second name is the father's given name, so it changes every generation. Ethiopians living in countries that require fixed surnames sometimes adopt the father's or grandfather's name as a permanent family name, but this is a newer practice.

    What does Gebre mean in a name?

    Gebre (ገብረ) means servant of. It is followed by a holy name, as in Gebremariam, servant of Mary, Gebreselassie, servant of the Trinity, or Gebremedhin, servant of the Savior. Similar prefixes include Wolde, son of, and Haile, power of.

    Does an Ethiopian woman change her name when she marries?

    No. Her second name belongs to her father, so marriage does not change it. A husband and wife therefore have different second names, and their children take the husband's given name. Some women living abroad add a husband's name for practical reasons, but this is a personal choice.

    Which languages do these names come from?

    Most come from Amharic, Tigrinya and Ge'ez, the classical language of the church, along with Oromo, spoken by the country's largest ethnic group, and Arabic for many Muslim families. Somali, Sidama and other languages of the south and east have their own naming traditions as well.

    More last name lists