A Hawaiian name is a name in the Hawaiian language. Such names are popular not only in Hawaiian families, but also among other residents of Hawaii, and even in the United States mainland among both non-native and native Hawaiians.
Meanings of names
Genuine Hawaiian names are unisex. Their literal meaning is usually quite clear, but there may be hidden symbolic meanings known only to the family. Old Hawaiians saw a name as the property of the name-holder, with a power to help or hurt its owner. A meaning that was too apparent might have attracted evil forces. And, just like in Hawaiian poetry, an allusion was considered more beautiful than a plain statement. Coolness and rain symbolize happiness in a warm climate. Mist is a symbol of romance. Lei means a child, because a beloved child is carried like a lei on the parent's shoulders. A child can also be a flower or a bud, regardless of its sex. Modern parents tend to be more prosaic, calling a child a child, as in Keikilani and Kamalani, in which keiki and kama both mean "child".
Traditional naming practices
Old Hawaiians coined a new name for each child, with careful thought of its meaning. Names might be revealed in dreams or visions. Children could be named after relatives, but names were not copied from other families. Hawaii was a hierarchical society, and the name had to be suitable to one's social class and family gods. Names beginning with Kelii- or ending in -lani were reserved for chiefs. The lowest social kauwā class were only allowed to take simple names from natural objects. Any incident at the time of birth might be commemorated in a name. A famous example was the Queen Liliuokalani, called Liliu Kamakaeha in childhood. The name was chosen by her great-aunt Kīnau who was suffering from an eye-ache. A person might have several names, formal and informal, and names were changed if they seemed harmful. If a child fell ill, evil sorcery was often suspected. The parents might change the name into something repulsive, like Pupuka or Kūkae in order to protect the child. Such names did not cause ostracism among Hawaiians, but foreign visitors were scandalized. An American writes in 1851: In nineteenth century marriage documents, we can find several Hawaiians named, for example, Kamai, Kaaihue, Kapela and Waiwaiole. However, the majority of names have quite pleasant meanings, or are simply descriptive. The most common names, used by both genders, were Kalua, Keawe, Kamaka, Keaka, Kealoha, Ōpūnui, and Māhoe. The most striking feature of nineteenth century names is their diversity. A unique name was the rule, not the exception. The ten most common names cover only four percent of the population.
Changes brought by western influence
Surnames did not exist in ancient Hawaii. Early converts might adopt a Christian name and use their Hawaiian name like a surname. In 1860 Kamehameha IV signed the Act to Regulate Names. Hawaiians were to take their father's given name as a surname, and all children born henceforth were to receive a Christian, i.e. English, given name. Hawaiian names were transferred into middle names. The law was not repealed until 1967. After the annexation of Hawaii to the U.S., knowledge of the Hawaiian language deteriorated. Grandparents could give traditional names to the next two generations, but a baby born into a Hawaiian family in the 2000s might not have any native speaker relatives. Names are borrowed from well-known persons, royalty, mythology, and songs. However, names are sometimes borrowed from direct ancestors and other family members. Mary Kawena Pukui, a traditional Hawaiian, expressed her unease with this practice: Phonetic renderings of western names, such as Kimo and Lāhela, have become names in their own right. The film industry produces pseudo-Hawaiian names, from Aloma of the South Seas to Lilo & Stitch. For many Hawaiian words, the okina and kahakō are important to the meaning of a word. They are often ignored in English texts, or okina are added where they do not belong. Hawaiian vowels should be pronounced clearly even when they are not stressed. The name of Malia Obama, when it is, is actually an English name of Hawaiian origin.
Popularity surveys
This information is based on a survey of Hawaiian given names of persons born in 1900–1989 and 2000–2005, from obituaries in Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin 1994–2004, and samples of births and marriages on Oahu in Honolulu Star-Bulletin 2000–2005. It's a small sample with an uneven age distribution, and centered on Oahu. But no one else seems to have researched the subject at all. The 3,750 persons in the survey had a total of 1,996 different names. 418 of these names had eight or more syllables. The proportion of long names was diminishing but it took an upward turn in 2000–2005. Hawaiian names occur as middle names until the 1960s. Even today, middle names outnumber first names by four to one. A minority of parents have started giving nothing but Hawaiian names to their children. In births registered on Oahu 2001–2002, about 25% of girls and 15% of boys received at least one Hawaiian name. Names with negative meaning have disappeared in this sample, and the unisex quality is waning. Many favorite names a hundred years ago, like Kealoha, Kalei, Leialoha, and Keonaona, were popular with both sexes. Today, the trendiest names are different for girls and boys. Modern parents seemed to think that the ending -lani belongs to women: 31% of women but only 11% of men had names ending in -lani, -o-ka-lani, -o-nā-lani or -mai-ka-lani, a recent innovation. Names beginning with the definite article Ka-/Ke- seem to have a masculine image: 46% of men but only 33% of women had such names. Five percent of the women in this survey were named Leilani. Other popular women's names included:
The Social Security Administration gives out annual lists of the top hundred names for boys and girls in the State of Hawaii, starting from the year 1960. They are based on first names while a Hawaiian name usually comes second. A few Hawaiian names make it into these lists every year. In 2008, they were Kaila, Maile, Malia, Kalena, Kiana, Alana and Kamalei for girls, and Kai, Kainoa, Keanu, Kainalu, Nāinoa, Kaimana and Kanoa for boys.
