Amadou

Amadou is a masculine given name common in West Africa and among the African diaspora. It is the French-derived form of the Arabic name Ahmad, itself a variant of Muhammad; in West Africa it is often rendered as Mamadou or Mahamadou, with Amadou used as a common everyday form. The name is associated with Muslim communities across Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, and neighboring regions.

Amadou also refers to a material derived from certain polypore fungi. The amadou is the soft, spongy inner tissue of fungi such as Fomes fomentarius (the tinder fungus). It is highly absorbent and has historically been used as tinder to start fires, an essential function before modern matches. Processing amadou typically involves removing the outer crust and drying or pounding the tissue to produce a workable sheet that can catch a spark.

Notable people named Amadou include the Malian writer and ethnologist Amadou Hampâté Bâ (1901–1991) and Amadou Diallo (1975–1999), a Guinean-born American victim of a high-profile 1999 police shooting. The name remains widely used in West Africa and among francophone communities, appearing across contemporary politics, sports, and culture.