Hawaiian Boy Names: 51 Strong Names With Meanings

Hawaiian boy names such as Ikaika (“strong”), Kekoa (“the warrior”), Koa, Keola, Keoni and Kai come from Hawaiian words and from Hawaiian forms of familiar names, and this list gives a checked meaning for 51 names, including 26 used for both boys and girls.

Most Hawaiian boy names are either Hawaiian words, often joined together, or Hawaiian forms of names such as John, James and Noah. A few words do a lot of work: koa (warrior), kai (sea), lani (heaven, sky, royal), ola (life) and the article ke or ka (the), so once you know them you can read many names at a glance.

We grouped the names into word names, Hawaiian forms of familiar names, unisex names, and names from Hawaiian mythology. Then come a short look at Hawaiian naming tradition, a plain guide to the ʻokina and kahakō, pronunciation, and how to choose a Hawaiian name with respect.

Hawaiian Boy Names at a Glance

Every gender, usage label and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026, and the spelling, including the ʻokina and kahakō, is printed exactly as each entry gives it. Where the reference says a meaning is unknown, we say so. Names we could not verify this way are not on the list.

Hawaiian boy names fall into three broad groups. Some are Hawaiian words used as names, such as Ikaika, “strong”, or Makana, “gift”. Some are Hawaiian forms of names that arrived from English and the Bible, such as Keoni (John) and Kimo (James). And a large share are gender-flexible: Behind the Name lists many Hawaiian names as both masculine and feminine, so a name such as Kai or Kalani belongs to boys and girls alike.

We start with the names Behind the Name lists only for boys that come straight from Hawaiian words. Several share a short element: ke or ka, a definite article (“the”), so Kekoa is literally “the warrior” and Kapono “the good one”.

Koa and Kekoa make a natural pair to compare. Koa means “warrior, koa tree” (both senses are in the entry), and Kekoa adds the article in front: “the warrior”. Kapena is one of a few Hawaiian words borrowed from English; its entry says it means “captain” in Hawaiian, of English origin. Manu, “bird”, is shared by several Polynesian languages, and its entry lists Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Māori and Hawaiian use. If you are drawn to names with a sense of strength in any language, our strong boy names list is a good companion.

How Hawaiian Boy Names Work: ʻOkina, Kahakō and Name Parts

Hawaiian is a living language: the University of Hawaiʻi notes that Hawaiian and English are the two official languages of the State of Hawaiʻi. Two marks appear throughout this list, and both matter for spelling a name correctly.

• The ʻokina: a glottal stop. The University of Hawaiʻi compares it to the sound between the syllables of “oh-oh”. Its style guidance calls the ʻokina a specific punctuation mark and says it is not a single quotation mark, an accent grave or a “tick mark”. You can see it in ʻAilani, Kauʻi and Uʻilani.
• The kahakō: a macron, the line over a vowel. The university explains that it lengthens the vowel and adds stress. You can see it in Kōnane, Nālani, Kāne and Māui.
• Why the marks matter: they can change the word. The University of Hawaiʻi gives the example of pau, which, depending on where the ʻokina and kahakō fall, can mean completed, smudge, moist or skirt. Dropping the marks from a name can turn it into a different word.

A handful of building blocks also turn up again and again in the entries, and once you know them you can read many names at a glance:

• Ka, ke and nā: Hawaiian definite articles (“the”). Kekoa is “the warrior”, Keola “the life”, Kealoha “the loved one” and Nālani “the heavens” or “the chiefs”.
• Lani: “heaven, sky, royal, majesty” (in some entries “chief”), the ending of Kalani, Kamalani, ʻAilani, Nālani, Uʻilani and Leilani.
• Kai: “sea” or “ocean, sea”, both a name on its own and the first part of Kaimana.
• Koa: “warrior, koa tree”, on its own and inside Kekoa.
• Pua and lei: pua means “flower, offspring” and lei means “flowers, lei, child”. That is why Kapua can be “the flower” or “the child”.

Here is how to read a compound, using the entries themselves. Kapono is ka (a definite article) plus pono (“good, moral”): “the good one”. Kamalani is kama (“child”) plus lani (“heaven, sky, royal, majesty”), so Behind the Name gives two readings, “heavenly child” or “royal child”. Kaimana shows that one name can carry two stories: the entry explains it both as kai plus mana (“ocean” plus “power”) and as a Hawaiian word for “diamond” that comes from English.

Notice how many meanings come in pairs joined by “or”. Hawaiian words often carry more than one sense, and what a name means to a family can depend on which sense they intend. It is one more reason to read the whole entry, not just the first gloss, before you choose.

A note of respect. A Hawaiian name is part of a living culture and, for many families, part of a family line. If you do not have Hawaiian roots and you love one of these names, ask a Hawaiian speaker or a kumu (a teacher of Hawaiian language or culture) about its sense and pronunciation before you commit. The University of Hawaiʻi’s own style guidance tells writers to consult proper resources, such as the Hawaiian Dictionary by Pukui and Elbert and the online dictionary Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, for correct spelling and diacritical marks.

Hawaiian Forms of Familiar Boy Names: Keoni, Kimo and More

Many Hawaiian boy names are Hawaiian forms of names that came to the islands from English and the Bible. They are a gentle way to honor a grandfather named John or an uncle named Michael while giving the name a Hawaiian shape. Each row says exactly which name the entry gives as the source.

Two of these connect to the newest U.S. data. Noa is the Hawaiian (and Croatian) form of Noah, which the Social Security Administration (SSA) ranks No. 2 for boys born in 2025, and Kimo is the Hawaiian form of James, ranked No. 6. If you like a top name but want something less expected, a Hawaiian form can be a meaningful middle ground, especially if you have Hawaiian family.

Several of these names began in the Bible: Adam, Jacob, Isaiah, Joshua, Matthew, Mark, Michael, Noah and Peter all have Hawaiian forms in this table. Our biblical boy names list covers the original forms and their meanings. Akoni is a slightly different case: its entry calls it a short form of Anakoni, which is itself the Hawaiian form of Anthony.

If you want a Hawaiian form of a family name that is not in this table, look it up in a reliable reference and, ideally, ask a fluent speaker. The forms in the table do not follow the spelling of the originals letter by letter (compare Ekewaka and Edward, or Iokua and Joshua), so a guess is easy to get wrong.

Unisex Hawaiian Names for Boys: Sky, Sea and Nature

Behind the Name lists each of these as both masculine and feminine, in the order shown in the Gender column. Many Hawaiian names work this way, so a name such as Kai or Kalani is just as much a boy’s name as a girl’s name. You will also find these names on our Hawaiian girl names list, since the same entries apply. For more names that cross over, see our gender neutral names guide.

The sea names are some of the most familiar. Kai is a single syllable meaning “sea”. Moana, “ocean, wide expanse of water, deep sea”, is shared by Māori, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan and Tongan. Kaimana adds “power” to “ocean”. Our ocean names list gathers sea names from many languages.

Keahi, “the fire”, and Kōnane, “bright”, are warmer choices; if you like that theme, see our names that mean fire. Keanu, “the cool breeze”, carries a famous association: its entry notes that the name is now associated with the Canadian actor Keanu Reeves. Some parents love that and others would rather avoid it, and either reaction is fine.

The -lani names (Kalani, Nālani, ʻAilani, Kamalani, Uʻilani and Leilani) all build on lani, “heaven, sky, royal, majesty” or “chief”. ʻAilani has one of the longest meanings on the page, describing enjoying the privileges and exercising the responsibilities of being a chief. Leilani is the one name here whose entry also lists English usage; it notes that Bing Crosby’s 1937 song “Sweet Leilani”, featured in the movie Waikiki Wedding, popularized it outside Hawaii.

Flower names such as Lehua, Pua, Kapua, Lei and Kalei may surprise English speakers as boys’ names, but the entries list each one for both genders. In Hawaiian, pua and lei also mean “offspring” or “child”, which gives these names a second, family-centered sense. For botanical names in other languages, browse our nature names.

Hawaiian Boy Names That Mean Love, Gift or Fame

These names describe a quality or a feeling rather than a thing. Each is listed by Behind the Name for both boys and girls.

Makana, “gift”, suits a baby who arrived after a long wait. Kealoha uses aloha, which the entry glosses simply as “love”, and Kaipo means “the sweetheart”. Kaulana, “famous”, is a bold choice for a boy. Keala, “the path”, has a quieter feel that many parents like for a middle name.

If you are building a shortlist for a son, it can help to pair one name from this table with one from the word table at the top of the page. Ikaika Makana and Kekoa Kealoha balance strength with warmth, for example. These are our suggestions, not traditional combinations.

Names From Hawaiian Mythology: Kāne and Māui

Two boy names on Behind the Name come from Hawaiian religious tradition. We describe them only as their entries do.

Kāne is filed under Polynesian Mythology, and its entry says the name means “man” in Hawaiian and that in Hawaiian mythology Kāne was the creator god. Māui’s entry says the meaning is unknown. It describes Māui as a trickster who had his brothers fish the Hawaiian Islands out of the sea and who bound the sun to slow its movement. If you are drawn to sun stories, our names that mean sun list has more.

These are names of sacred figures, and many Hawaiian families treat them with real weight. If you are not part of that tradition, this is the section where asking a kumu or a Hawaiian cultural practitioner matters most.

Hawaiian Naming Traditions: Names That Come in the Night

Hawaiian names are not only words with meanings. In Hawaiian tradition, how a name comes to a family can matter as much as what it means. Most baby-name lists skip this, so here is one tradition described by a Hawaiian source.

In a 2021 column in Ka Wai Ola, the newspaper of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kalani Akana, PhD, a kumu of hula, oli and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, wrote about “night names”. Citing Mary K. Pukuʻi’s Nānā i ke Kumu, he explained that when a person is visited at night by their deified ancestors and gives a name to a child who is yet to be born, that name is a night name. The column describes knowledge that comes from within Pō (night, darkness) as something Hawaiians regarded as very important.

What does that mean for you? Mainly that a Hawaiian name can carry a family story you cannot see from a dictionary. A name you find on a list may have a particular history in someone’s family. If you are choosing a Hawaiian name from outside the culture, treat it with that in mind, and if you have Hawaiian relatives, ask whether there are names, or stories behind names, that the family wants to keep or to pass on.

We have kept this section short on purpose. Hawaiian naming customs are best learned from Hawaiian families and teachers, not summarized by outsiders, so we describe only what the Hawaiian source above says.

Short, Strong and Unique Hawaiian Boy Names by Style

Style is a matter of taste, so treat these groupings as our opinion. All meanings come from the tables above.

• Short (four letters or fewer): Koa, Kai, Kale, Kimo, Noa, Pika, Peni, Manu, Lei and Pua.
• Strong meanings: Ikaika (“strong”), Kekoa (“the warrior”), Koa (“warrior, koa tree”), Kapena (“captain”), Kaulana (“famous”) and Kaimana (“ocean” and “power”).
• Gentle meanings: Kapono (“the good one”), Keola (“the life”), Makana (“gift”), Kealoha (“the loved one”) and Keala (“the path”).
• Long and rhythmic: Anakoni, Ekewaka, Iakopa, Kamalani and Kealoha.
• Familiar to many English speakers: Kai, Keanu, Noa and Leilani. That is our impression, not a statistic.
• Less heard outside Hawaii: Kawehi, Kōnane, Kauʻi, Iokua and Makaio. Again, our impression: we have no birth data that would let us call a name rare.

Kai is a special case for families shopping across cultures. Behind the Name has several separate entries spelled Kai; the one on this page is the Hawaiian entry, meaning “sea”. Koa and Lei also have more than one entry, and we used the Hawaiian one each time. If you want other short or unique boy names, see our Japanese boy names and Korean boy names lists, which use the same checked approach.

On popularity: apart from the Noah and James connections noted above, none of these names appears in the U.S. top 10 for boys born in 2025 published by the SSA, and we make no other popularity claims. You can look up any name yourself with the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search.

How to Say Hawaiian Boy Names and Spell Them on Paperwork

Behind the Name prints pronunciations in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In that system, ʔ is the glottal stop that the ʻokina writes, ː after a vowel marks the long vowel that the kahakō writes, and ˈ comes before the stressed syllable. The table gives every pronunciation shown on the entries for a sample of names on this page.

A few patterns help. Hawaiian vowels keep their own sound, so Koa is two syllables (ko-a) and Kekoa three (ke-ko-a). The “aj” in Ikaika, Kai and Kaimana is close to the English word “eye”, and the “aw” in Kaulana is close to “ow”. Compare Kāne, with a long first vowel, to Kale, with a short one.

The simplest way to learn a name is to hear a fluent speaker say it, then say it slowly with your surname, syllable by syllable. Names with an ʻokina, such as ʻAilani and Kauʻi, have a brief catch in the voice where the mark sits.

On paperwork, U.S. records do not always carry accent marks or special characters, so the ʻokina and kahakō may not print on every form. Ask your hospital or birth registration office what can be recorded, and decide early how you will write the name at home, on announcements and in school records so the spelling stays consistent.

Choosing a Hawaiian Boy Name With Care: A Practical Checklist

Some readers have Hawaiian family ties. Others fell in love with a name on a trip or in a song. Either way, these steps are our advice, not rules.

• Start with family: if you have Hawaiian relatives, ask which names, words and spellings run in the family and whether there is a story to carry on.
• Read the whole meaning: many entries give two senses (“warrior, koa tree”; “heavenly child” or “royal child”). Know both before you choose.
• Check with a speaker: ask a Hawaiian speaker or a kumu to confirm spelling, the ʻokina and kahakō, and pronunciation, especially if you are choosing a name outside your own heritage.
• Keep the marks: an ʻokina or kahakō is part of the spelling, and the University of Hawaiʻi notes that the marks can change a word’s meaning.
• Be careful with new combinations: joining two Hawaiian words you like into a new name is tempting, but words carry several senses and the marks change words, so a new compound may not mean what you expect. Ask a fluent speaker first.
• Think about the middle slot: a short Hawaiian name such as Koa, Kai or Keola works well in the middle, especially after a longer first name.
• Say it out loud: with your surname and any siblings’ names, and write out the initials.

Pairing ideas within this list, not rules: Kekoa Makana, Keola Kai, Kimo Kaleo, Ikaika Keone and Noa Kalani. For brothers, names that share an element can feel connected without matching: Koa and Kekoa, or Kai and Kaimana. For a brother and sister, consider one of the unisex names above for either child.

Related Betteroo Guides

• Hawaiian Girl Names
• Japanese Boy Names
• Korean Boy Names
• Ocean Names
• Strong Boy Names
• Gender Neutral Names

The Bottom Line

Hawaiian boy names come from Hawaiian words for strength, life, the sea and the sky, from Hawaiian forms of familiar names such as John, James and Noah, and from a large group of names Hawaiian uses for boys and girls alike. Shortlist a few, read the full meaning in each entry, keep the ʻokina and kahakō in the spelling, and, if the name comes from outside your family, ask a Hawaiian speaker before you settle on it.

Then say each name out loud with your surname, picture it on a kindergarten cubby, and choose the one that feels like your son.

Frequently Asked Questions