Where does the name Nyota come from?

Nyota is a Bantu-Swahili name. It comes from Swahili's own Bantu (African) roots.

Is Nyota a girl's or a boy's name?

Nyota is usually given to girls.

Swahili name

means "Star"

Nyota is a Swahili name meaning "Star". It comes from Swahili's own Bantu (African) roots.

Nyota is the everyday Swahili word for star, so children hear their name in songs and stories about the night sky.

NYO-tah

The part in capitals is stressed. In Swahili, every vowel is its own sound, and the stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.

Type a name and we'll turn it into a colourful card — meaning and origin included — ready to print and colour in.

Drawing your card…

More names on the theme of sun, moon and sky.

What does the name Nyota mean?: Nyota is a Swahili name meaning "Star". Nyota is the everyday Swahili word for star, so children hear their name in songs and stories about the night sky.
How do you pronounce Nyota?: Say it NYO-tah. The part in capitals is stressed.
Where does the name Nyota come from?: Nyota is a Bantu-Swahili name. It comes from Swahili's own Bantu (African) roots.
Is Nyota a girl's or a boy's name?: Nyota is usually given to girls.

Bantu-Swahili: Swahili is a Bantu language, part of a large family of African languages. Bantu-Swahili names come from that original African core of the language.
Arabic-origin: Centuries of trade and contact along the East African coast brought many Arabic words and names into Swahili. They are now fully at home in Swahili-speaking families.
Borrowed (trade-route): Swahili also borrowed words from other languages its speakers met through trade across the Indian Ocean.