Hawai'i

Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Hawai'i

Capital : Honolulu (on Oahu)

Polynesian settlers reached the Hawai'ian islands in the northern Pacific between 300 and 600 AD. They were first discovered by Europeans when Captain James Cook landed in 1778. Soon Christian missionaries arrived, establishing schools, churches and developing a written form of the Hawai'ian language.

The Polynesian kingdom survived until 1893 and the country became a republic in 1894. It ceded itself to the USA in 1898, becoming a US territory in 1900. Hawai'i was used as a military base in WWII and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 7^th December 1941 severely weakened the American fleet in the Pacific. The islands were under martial law until the end of the war. In 1959, Hawai'i became an American State.

Hawai'ian Names

Until the arrival of the Europeans, Hawai'ian names followed the Polynesian pattern in which the choice of a name could be influenced by the extended family, ancestor gods or dreams. Names often commemorated significant events or achievements and were not gender specific. Usually a short form of a long Polynesian name was used for everyday. Sometimes children were given names with distasteful meanings to discourage the spirits. A sacred name which was never spoken out loud might also be given. There were no inherited surnames and no tradition of marriage although people could usually trace their descent for many generations through ancestral names.

In 1860, the Act to Regulate Names became law under King Kamehameha IV and everyone had to adopt the European naming system. The native Hawi'ian names usually became the inherited surname. Biblical names became very popular and many English names were transliterated into Hawai'ian forms. These are still popular although the Act was changed in 1967 to allow non-Christian first names.

Name Elements

Hawai'ian Origin

These names can usually be given to either males or females.

Biblical Origin

Female

European Origin

Female

American

In recent years, the following Hawai'ian names have been used in the mainland United States, almost exclusively for girls.

Kanane 'beauty'

Keikana from 'Keiki', child

Keilani 'glorious chief'

Lani 'sky/heaven'

Leilani 'heavenly child/flower'

Malia Hawai'ian form of Maria

Nalani calm as the heavens

Ulani

This collection of names was compiled by Kate Monk and is ©1997, Kate Monk.

Copies may be made for personal use only.