Swahili name
Upendo
means "Love"
Upendo is a Swahili name meaning "Love". It comes from Swahili's own Bantu (African) roots.
Upendo is the word for love you'll hear in Swahili songs, hymns and everyday affection.
How to say it
oo-PEN-do
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.
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Questions parents ask about Upendo
- What does the name Upendo mean?
- Upendo is a Swahili name meaning "Love". Upendo is the word for love you'll hear in Swahili songs, hymns and everyday affection.
- How do you pronounce Upendo?
- Say it oo-PEN-do. The part in capitals is stressed.
- Where does the name Upendo come from?
- Upendo is a Bantu-Swahili name. It comes from Swahili's own Bantu (African) roots.
- Is Upendo a girl's or a boy's name?
- Upendo is usually given to girls.
What do the origin labels mean?
- 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.