Surrounded by water from all directions, Africa is a continent with 54 sovereign states and 54 different ways her counties were Named.
How African Countries Got Their Names
Among the sovereign African countries, the largest is Algeria, occupying around 7 percent of the continent's landmass; the smallest African nation is Seychelles. The Morocco is in the first place among the most popular travel spots in Africa, followed by South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia.
The following 54 fully recognized states are all members of the United Nations and the African Union.
How African Countries Got Their Names | |
African Country | Etymology of African Country Names |
Algeria | The country name Derives from the capital city of Algiers |
Angola | Name derived by the Portuguese from the title "ngola" held by kings of the Ndongo (Ndongo was a kingdom in what is now northern Angola) |
Benin | Named for the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies |
Botswana | The name Botswana means "Land of the Tswana" - referring to the country's major ethnic group |
Burkina Faso | Name translates as "Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men" |
Burundi | Name derived from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Burundi (17th-19th century) |
Cabo Verde | The name derives from Cap-Vert (Green Cape) on the Senegalese coast, the westernmost point of Africa and the nearest mainland to the islands |
Cameroon | In the 15th century, Portuguese explorers named the area near the mouth of the Wouri River the Rio dos Camaroes (River of Prawns) after the abundant shrimp in the water; over time the designation became Cameroon in English; this is the only instance where a country is named after a crustacean |
Central African Republic | Self-descriptive name specifying the country's location on the continent; "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent |
Chad | Named for Lake Chad, which lies along the country's western border; the word "tsade" means "large body of water" or "lake" in several local native languages |
Comoros | Name derives from the Arabic designation "Juzur al Qamar" meaning "Islands of the Moon" |
Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | Named for the Congo River, most of which lies within the DRC; the river name derives from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom that occupied its mouth at the time of Portuguese discovery in the late 15th century and whose name stems from its people the Bakongo, meaning "hunters" |
Congo Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) | Same as DRC, named for the Congo River, which makes up much of the country's eastern border; the river name derives from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom that occupied its mouth at the time of Portuguese discovery in the late 15th century and whose name stems from its people the Bakongo, meaning "hunters" |
Cote d'Ivoire | Name reflects the intense ivory trade that took place in the region from the 15th to 17th centuries |
Djibouti | The country name derives from the capital city of Djibouti |
Egypt | The English name "Egypt" derives from the ancient Greek name for the country "Aigyptos"; the Arabic name "Misr" can be traced to the ancient Akkadian "misru" meaning border or frontier |
Equatorial Guinea | The country is named for the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel; the "equatorial" refers to the fact that the country lies just north of the Equator |
Eritrea | The country name derives from the ancient Greek appellation "Erythra Thalassa" meaning Red Sea, which is the major water body bordering the country |
Ethiopia | The country name derives from the Greek word "Aethiopia," which in classical times referred to lands south of Egypt in the Upper Nile region |
Gabon | Name originates from the Portuguese word "gabao" meaning "cloak," which is roughly the shape that the early explorers gave to the estuary of the Komo River by the capital of Libreville |
The Gambia | Named for the Gambia River that flows through the heart of the country |
Ghana | Named for the medieval West African kingdom of the same name, but whose location was actually further north than the modern country |
Guinea | The country is named after the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel |
Guinea-Bissau | The country is named after the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel; "Bissau," the name of the capital city, distinguishes the country from neighboring Guinea |
Kenya | Named for Mount Kenya; the meaning of the name is unclear but may derive from the Kikuyu, Embu, and Kamba words "kirinyaga," "kirenyaa," and "kiinyaa" - all of which mean "God's resting place" |
Lesotho | The name translates as "Land of the Sesotho Speakers" |
Liberia | Name derives from the Latin word "liber" meaning "free"; so named because the nation was created as a homeland for liberated African-American slaves |
Libya | Name derives from the Libu, an ancient Libyan tribe first mentioned in texts from the 13th century B.C. |
Madagascar | The name "Madageiscar" was first used by the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco POLO, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the Somali port with which POLO confused the island |
Malawi | Named for the East African Maravi Kingdom of the 16th century; the word "maravi" means "fire flames" |
Mali | Name derives from the West African Mali Empire of the 13th to 16th centuries A.D. |
Mauritania | Named for the ancient kingdom of Mauretania (3rd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), which existed further north in present-day Morocco; the name derives from the Mauri (Moors), the Berber-speaking peoples of northwest Africa |
Mauritius | Island named after Prince Maurice VAN NASSAU, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1598 |
Morocco | The English name "Morocco" derives from, respectively, the Spanish and Portuguese names "Marruecos" and "Marrocos," which stem from "Marrakesh" the Latin name for the former capital of ancient Morocco; the Arabic name "Al Maghrib" translates as "The West" |
Mozambique | Named for the offshore island of Mozambique; the island was apparently named after Mussa al-BIK, an influential Arab slave trader who set himself up as sultan on the island in the 15th century |
Namibia | Named for the coastal Namib Desert; the name "namib" means "vast place" in the Nama/Damara language |
Niger | Named for the Niger River that passes through the southwest of the country; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir" |
Nigeria | Same as Niger, named for the Niger River that flows through the west of the country to the Atlantic Ocean; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir" |
Rwanda | The name translates as "domain" in the native Kinyarwanda language |
Sao Tome and Principe | Ao Tome was named after Saint Thomas the Apostle by the Portuguese who discovered the island on 21 December 1470 (or 1471), the saint's feast day; Principe is a shortening of the original Portuguese name of "Ilha do Principe" (Isle of the Prince) referring to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid |
Senegal | Named for the Senegal River that forms the northern border of the country; many theories exist for the origin of the river name; perhaps the most widely cited derives the name from "Azenegue," the Portuguese appellation for the Berber Zenaga people who lived north of the river |
Seychelles | Named by French Captain Corneille Nicholas MORPHEY after Jean Moreau de sechelles, the finance minister of France, in 1756 |
Sierra Leone | The Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra named the country "Serra Leoa" (Lion Mountains) for the impressive mountains he saw while sailing the West African coast in 1462 |
Somalia | "Land of the Somali" (ethnic group) |
South Africa | Self-descriptive name from the country's location on the continent; "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent |
South Sudan | Name from the country's former position within Sudan prior to independence; the name "Sudan" derives from the Arabic "bilad-as-sudan" meaning "Land of the Black peoples" |
Sudan | The name "Sudan" derives from the Arabic "bilad-as-sudan" meaning "Land of the Black peoples" |
Swaziland | |
