Baby name pickerby KYO360

BoySouthern African (Shona, Sotho, Tswana and others)

Thapelo

Sesotho and Setswana for "prayer", built on the verb rapela, "to pray".

Meaning and origin

Thapelo is a Sotho-Tswana noun formed from the everyday verb rapela, to pray, through the same sound-changing pattern that turns rata into thato and dumela into tumelo.

How to pronounce Thapelo

English (US)thuh-PEH-loh /θəˈpɛloʊ/

About this entry

Drafted with the help of an AI model, then checked by a person. Last checked on 16 September 2026.

The sources behind this entry are listed in the app.