Imani is the Swahili word for "faith" — borrowed originally from the Arabic īmān (إيمان), which means the same. As a given name it became prominent in the United States through the Kwanzaa observance: Imani is the seventh principle of Kwanzaa, falling on January 1, and represents faith in the community, in family, and in the future.
The name has been used in African-American families since the late twentieth century and now appears widely in Africa as well, particularly in East Africa. It has the rare quality of being both a religious word in Arabic and a secular cultural value in Swahili — the same meaning, lived two different ways.
Three syllables, one beautiful idea.
Imani reduces to four — the number of steadiness and quiet conviction.