Across clinics, home ceremonies, and WhatsApp debates, South African parents keep reaching for names that carry hope and belonging.

The official picture shifts each year, yet a clear pattern holds. The latest data from Stats SA shows that Lethabo was the most popular name for boys (a Sotho and Tswana name meaning joy or happiness) while Onalerona (also a Sotho and Tswana name, meaning “God is with us”) topped among girls, and names such as Melokuhle, Lethabo, and Omphile appeared on both top ten lists.

The data show that second names lean strongly English while first names tend to anchor in indigenous languages, a blend that mirrors daily code switching and the country’s multilingual reality.

The same report shows surnames telling their own story, with Dlamini the most common baby surname, followed by Ndlovu and Nkosi.

Continuity matters as much as novelty. Names are popular that speak joy and aspiration, with Lethabo and Melokuhle prominent and cross-gender appeal visible in the top lists. That thread still runs through today’s registers. And see this explainer about why many parents in 2025 are likely to keep drawing from a shared well of meaning while pairing those choices with English middle names that travel easily in school registers and HR databases.

So what 2025 babies are called is less a trend chase than a civic ritual. Families are writing the country’s story on birth certificates one name at a time, choosing words that carry yesterday forward while making room for tomorrow.