According to research by World Population Review, these are the most popular surnames in Africa.
Millions of people living on the African continent share surnames, just like in other continents in the world.
Africa is a very heterogeneous continent; it is not a country, as some Westerners think. 54 countries make up the African continent.
In Africa, there are many languages, ethnic groups, and cultures all existing within the same geographical location.
Surnames are names for people’s extended families; they represent a group’s identity.
However, some surnames are more common than others; just like in the United States, you are likely to encounter people with the surname ‘Smith’ more than any other name; the same happens in Africa.
The most popular surnames in Africa
- Kenya – Mwangi
- South Africa – Nkosi
- Togo – Lawson
- Madagascar – Rakotomalala
- Burundi – Nkurunziza
- Botswana – Molefe
- Algeria – Saidi
- Morocco – Alaoui
- Eswatini – Dlamini
- Djibouti – Muhamed
- Sudan – Ahmed
- Liberia – Kollie
- Uganda – Akello
- Burkina Faso – Quedraogo
- Namibia – Johannes
- Democratic Republic of the Congo – Ilunga
- Comoros – Muhammad
- Cape Verde – Lopes
- Egypt – Mohamed
- Libya – Ali
- Angola – Manuel
- Zambia – Phiri
- Cameroon – Ngo
- South Sudan – Deng
- Guinea – Diallo
- Niger – Abdou
- Senegal – Ndiaye
- Rwanda – Uwimana
- Ghana – Mensah
- Sierra Leone – Kamare
- Tunisia – Trabelsi
- Chad – Mahamat
- Tanzania – Juma
- Benin – Bio
- Nigeria – Ibrahim
- Ethiopia – Tesfaye
- Congo-Brazzaville – Ngoma
- Lesotho – Mohapi
- Malawi – Banda
- Mozambique – Langa
- Ivory Coast – Kone
- Seychelles – Hoareau
- Zimbabwe – Moyo
- Gabon – Ndong
- Mauritius – Beeharry
- Somalia – Ali
- Equatorial Guinea – Nguema
- Guinea-Bissau – Gomes
- Eritrea – Ali
- Mali – Traore
