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Home › Baby Names Directory › Tanganyika

Tanganyika

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Pronounced tang-guhn-YEE-kuh /ˌtæŋɡənˈjiːkə/Low

Meaning: Tanganyika is a place name borrowed as a first name, drawn from Lake Tanganyika and from Tanganyika, the mainland territory that joined with Zanzibar to form Tanzania. The lake name is of Bantu origin, with its precise sense debated among scholars.Low

In 30 seconds: Tanganyika is a place name from the great African lake and former territory, used as a given name (said tang-guhn-YEE-kuh). It was rare, peaking around 1972.
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Origin LowAfrican
MeaningTanganyika is a place name borrowed as a first name, drawn from Lake Tanganyika and from Tanganyika, the mainland territory that joined with Zanzibar to form Tanzania. The lake name is of Bantu origin, with its precise sense debated among scholars.
U.S. rank (1982)#8142 ↘ Falling
1982 U.S. births8 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1972
Total births (all-time)≈ 113

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 197219691982

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Tanganyika takes its sound from Lake Tanganyika and the former East African territory of the same name. Chosen as a first name, most often in the nineteen-seventies, it reads as a proud geographic and heritage name; its Bantu-rooted meaning is debated.

It was never common, given to only about sixteen girls a year at its peak around 1972, in the years after the region gained independence. A woman named Tanganyika then is in her mid-fifties today.

Did you know? The name honors Lake Tanganyika, one of the deepest lakes in the world, and the country of Tanganyika, which gained independence in the early nineteen-sixties before merging into Tanzania.
Overall data confidence 42%
References - Tanganyika — Place name; Lake Tanganyika / former territory; Bantu origin

Variations

TanganyickaTanganiaTanzania

Nicknames

TangaNyika

Famous Bearers

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Tanganyika mean?

It is a place name from Lake Tanganyika and the former African territory of Tanganyika, used as a given name; the lake name is of Bantu origin.

How do you pronounce Tanganyika?

It is said tang-guhn-YEE-kuh /ˌtæŋɡənˈjiːkə/, four syllables with the stress on the third.

Is Tanganyika a boy or girl name?

Tanganyika is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Tanganyika?

It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about sixteen a year at its peak in the early nineteen-seventies.

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