Many Hausa names come from the day, the time or the circumstances of a birth. A child born on Saturday may be called Asabe (a girl) and a boy born on Sunday Danladi, from the Hausa names of the weekdays. Muslim families usually give the official name at a naming ceremony (suna), traditionally in the first week of life, and add Arabic-derived names such as Hauwa (Eve), Aisha or Abdullahi.
Asabe
A girl born on Saturday (Asabar).
Jummai
A girl born on Friday (Jumma’a), the day of the main weekly prayer.
Danladi
A boy born on Sunday (Lahadi). Ɗan means “son of”, here “child of Sunday”.
Larai, Talatu
Girls born on Wednesday (Laraba) and Tuesday (Talata).
Auta
The last-born child of a family.
Kasu
A child born on market day (kasuwa), the rhythm that organises the week.
Ango
Means “bridegroom”: ordinary words can be names.
Hauwa
The Hausa form of Hawwa (Eve), a very common name for girls.
A linguistic study of Hausa personal names groups them by time of birth, circumstances, appearance, kinship and a parent’s occupation. Ask a Hausa friend what their name means: it is a lovely way to start a conversation.