Origins of the name Afrika

The name Afre-Kh or Kh-Afre, simply means the “Kh of Ophir” or “Spirit of Africa“. The origin of Afer may either come from the Phoenician word `afar, meaning ‘dust’; or named after the Afri,

a Berber ethnic group that dwelt in North Africa in the Carthage area. In beliefs about the origins of man, some people believe that the first man was formed from dust by God. The name could also have come from the the Greek word aphrike, meaning ‘without cold‘, or the Latin word aprica, meaning ‘sunny’.

The Hebrew referred to the continent as “Auphirah” is usually written “Ophir“, as seen in I Kings 9:28, where King Solomon sent sailors to “Ophir-Auphirah”. I Kings 10:1 gave an account of the Queen of Ophirah-Africa who came to visit Solomon. This account most likely spoke of Hat-Sheba, the only Queen to have ruled over the territories of Egypt, Nubia, Sudan and Ethiopia.

The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia.