T'challa

tuh-CHAH-la; CHAH-la

West African and South African, meaning unknown

T'challa Origin and Meaning

The name T'challa is a boy's name .

T'Challa is the "real" name of Marvel's Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 blockbuster. That year, Marvel released a comic revealing the name means "he who put the knife where it belonged" in the fictional native language of Wakanda.

The Black Panther was first published as a comic in 1966, but it was not until 1975 that T'Challa charted as a baby name when it was given to five baby boys. It recently made the charts again in 2022.

It's unclear how the creators of Black Panther chose his given name, but T'Challa does exist as a name in Africa. In West African countries, including Nigeria and Togo, Tchalla is found as both a first and last name. Tchalla is also seen in South African countries such as Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with similar names such as Tshala. A 19th-century Angolan king was named Tchalla/Challa.

The Marvel character pronounces the T in his name, while the T is silent in African languages.