Sierra Leonean Last Name Generator

A list of 456 Sierra Leonean surnames, one family name per entry: nationwide names like Kamara and Koroma, often Mende names like Bockarie and Vandi, often Fula names like Jalloh and Barrie, and Krio names like Wyse, Macauley and Tuboku-Metzger.

About Sierra Leonean last names

The biggest Sierra Leonean surnames belong to no single people. Kamara, Koroma, Sesay, Conteh, Bangura, Turay and Mansaray are carried by Temne, Limba, Loko, Koranko, Susu and Mandingo families alike. Several are local spellings of clan names known across West Africa: Kamara for Camara, Sesay for Cissé, Turay for Touré. Kanu, Kargbo and Thoronka are heard most in the north.

In the south and east, names such as Bockarie, Lahai, Vandi, Kallon and Gbenda are often Mende, and some surnames, like Momoh, Brima and Saffa, serve as given names too. Gbondo, Matturi and Nyuma are often Kono or Kissi. Jalloh, Bah, Barrie and Sow are often Fula, and Kuyateh, Fofanah and Jabbie are Manding clan names. Caulker and Tucker are old Sherbro families of the southern coast.

Freetown's Krio families, whose ancestors were freed slaves and Liberated Africans settled there from the late 1700s onward, carry English surnames such as Cole, Wyse, Nicol, Pratt and Macauley, and double-barrelled names such as Tuboku-Metzger and Hotobah-During. The list has 456 entries and is not padded to a round number. Where two spellings of one name are both in use, as with Sesay and Seisay or Tarawally and Tarawalie, both appear.

How to choose Sierra Leonean last names

• Choose the home district before the name. Kanu, Kargbo or Thoronka suits a family from the north, Bockarie, Vandi or Gbenda one from Bo, Kenema or Kailahun, Gbondo or Matturi one from Kono, and Cole, Wyse or Decker one from Freetown.
• Do not read a people or a faith from a surname. Kamara, Koroma and Sesay are shared by many communities, and given names are Muslim or Christian whatever the family name.
• Keep one spelling inside a family. Sesay and Seisay, Vandi and Vandy, Lebbie and Lebby, Macauley and Macaulay are all in use, but relatives would not mix the two forms.
• Treat a Krio double-barrelled name as one family name passed down whole. Use Beoku-Betts or Koso-Thomas as written instead of hyphenating two entries of your own.
• For a full name, pair a surname from this list with a given name from the Sierra Leonean name page, which holds first names such as Fatmata, Alimamy, Jeneba and Sahr.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common Sierra Leonean last names?

Kamara, Koroma, Sesay, Conteh, Bangura, Turay, Mansaray, Jalloh, Kargbo and Kanu are names you meet all over the country. Others that turn up everywhere are Bah, Fofanah, Kallon, Sillah, Williams and Cole.

Does a Sierra Leonean surname tell you someone's ethnic group?

It gives a hint and no more. Jalloh and Barrie are often Fula, Bockarie and Vandi often Mende, Thoronka often Limba, Wyse and Decker often Krio. Kamara, Koroma, Sesay and Conteh are carried by several peoples, and families marry across groups, so a surname proves nothing about a person's ancestry.

Why are these names spelled differently in Guinea and Senegal?

Sierra Leone writes shared West African family names by English spelling habits, while the French-speaking countries of the region follow French ones. Diallo becomes Jalloh, Barry becomes Barrie, Camara becomes Kamara, Cissé becomes Sesay and Touré becomes Turay. A final h is common too, as in Fofanah, Sillah and Kalokoh.

What are Krio surnames?

Krio families of Freetown and the peninsula mostly carry English surnames, such as Cole, Wyse, Nicol, Pratt, Decker and Macauley. Many settlers and Liberated Africans took English names in the colony's early years, and their descendants kept them. Double-barrelled forms such as Tuboku-Metzger, Hotobah-During and Awoonor-Renner are each a single family name.

Related generators

All 456 Sierra Leonean last names