Hawaiian Last Names and Meanings
65 Hawaiian surnames with their literal meanings and how many people in the U.S. carry each one. Most are the given name of an ancestor, frozen into a family name by an 1860 law. This page is family names only — for first names across the Pacific, see Polynesian given names.
Hawaiians did not use inherited surnames before the 19th century. Each person had one name, sometimes several, and the family was known through genealogy chants rather than a shared last name. In 1860 King Kamehameha IV signed a law requiring every child to take the father’s given name as a surname. That is why so many Hawaiian last names are simply first names with ka or ke (“the”) in front, Kealoha, Kahale, Kamaka, Kekoa.
Many of the surnames you meet in Hawaiʻi are not Hawaiian-language names at all. Japanese, Chinese and Filipino families arrived in the plantation era, and names such as Kaneshiro, carried by 2,413 people in the 2000 census, are as much a part of island life as Kealoha.
The most common Hawaiian last names
- Kealoha
- Kalama
- Kalani
- Kamaka
- Kanahele
- Kaʻai
- Kaʻaihue
- Hanohano
- Kekahuna
- Kahele
- Kalua
- Kaʻawa
- Naone
- Kaʻiwi
- Kauhane
| Surname | Meaning | Literal | Note | People (2000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akana | Hawaiianized Chinese surname (from Ah Kana) | Chinese origin | Many Hawaiian-Chinese families took the given name of an ancestor plus 'Ah' as a surname. | 810 |
| Hanohano | honored, glorious | hanohano (honoured, glorious) | 323 | |
| Hoapili | close companion | hoa (companion) + pili (close) | Also the name of Hoapili, a high chief and trusted companion of Kamehameha I. | 160 |
| Kahaʻi | the narrator, a legendary voyaging chief | ka (the) + haʻi (to tell) | under 100 | |
| Kahale | the house | ka (the) + hale (house) | 153 | |
| Kahalewai | the house by the water | ka (the) + hale (house) + wai (fresh water) | 196 | |
| Kahanamoku | the house of the island (popular reading) | ka (the) + hana (work, bay) + moku (island, district) | Duke Kahanamoku (1890 to 1968), Olympic swimmer and father of modern surfing. | under 100 |
| Kahananui | the great work | ka (the) + hana (work) + nui (great) | under 100 | |
| Kahanu | the breath | ka (the) + hanu (breath) | 132 | |
| Kahawai | the stream | ka (the) + hāwai (stream) | 117 | |
| Kahele | the journey, the going | ka (the) + hele (to go, to travel) | 294 | |
| Kahikina | the east, the arrival | ka (the) + hikina (east, rising) | 131 | |
| Kahoʻohanohano | the one who brings honor | ka (the) + hoʻohanohano (to honor) | under 100 | |
| Kaʻai | the food, the sustenance | ka (the) + ʻai (food) | 342 | |
| Kaʻaihue | the thief (a nickname turned surname) | ka (the) + ʻaihue (to steal) | 334 | |
| Kaʻanaʻanā | the sorcery, a family name from Hawaiʻi Island | ka (the) + ʻanāʻanā | under 100 | |
| Kaʻawa | the ʻawa plant (kava) | ka (the) + ʻawa | 245 | |
| Kaʻiwi | the bone, the lineage | ka (the) + iwi (bone, ancestry) | 243 | |
| Kalākaua | the day of battle | ka (the) + lā (day) + kaua (battle) | under 100 | |
| Kalama | the torch, the light | ka (the) + lama (torch, light) | 511 | |
| Kalani | the heavens, the royal one | ka (the) + lani (sky, heaven, royal) | 437 | |
| Kaleikini | the many lei, the multitude of children | ka (the) + lei + kini (multitude) | 223 | |
| Kaleo | the voice | ka (the) + leo (voice, sound) | 132 | |
| Kalilikane | the small man | ka (the) + liʻiliʻi (small) + kāne (man) | 164 | |
| Kalima | the hand, the five | ka (the) + lima (hand, five) | 179 | |
| Kalua | the pit, the earth oven | ka (the) + lua (pit) | 272 | |
| Kaluna | the top, the upper one | ka (the) + luna (above) | 158 | |
| Kama | child, person | kama (child, person) | Also a Samoan and Japanese surname, so the census count is not all Hawaiian families. | 482 |
| Kamaka | the eye, the beloved | ka (the) + maka (eye, favorite) | 418 | |
| Kamakau | the fishhook | ka (the) + makau (fishhook) | Samuel Kamakau (1815 to 1876) was a leading Hawaiian historian. | under 100 |
| Kamanu | the bird | ka (the) + manu (bird) | 123 | |
| Kamehameha | the lonely one, the one set apart | ka (the) + mehameha (solitary) | The royal dynasty that ruled Hawaiʻi from 1795 to 1872. | under 100 |
| Kanahele | the forest | ka (the) + nahele (forest) | 357 | |
| Kanaka | person, human being | kanaka (person) | under 100 | |
| Kanani | the beauty | ka (the) + nani (beauty) | 204 | |
| Kanekoa | brave man, warrior man | kāne (man) + koa (brave, warrior) | 197 | |
| Kaneshiro | Japanese surname common in Hawaiʻi (Okinawan origin) | Japanese origin | Included because it is one of the Japanese surnames most associated with Hawaiʻi. 2,413 people carried it in the 2000 US census. | 2,413 |
| Kaniho | the tooth | ka (the) + niho (tooth) | 175 | |
| Kanoa | the free one | ka (the) + noa (free, released from kapu) | 161 | |
| Kapena | captain | kāpena (captain) | under 100 | |
| Kapoi | the poi | ka (the) + poi | under 100 | |
| Kapule | the prayer | ka (the) + pule (prayer) | 117 | |
| Kauhane | the spirit, the soul | ka (the) + ʻuhane (spirit) | 238 | |
| Kauʻi | the youthful beauty | ka (the) + uʻi (youthful) | 127 | |
| Kaupu | the albatross (popular reading) | kaʻupu (a seabird) | 117 | |
| Keahi | the fire | ke (the) + ahi (fire) | 185 | |
| Kealakai | the sea path | ke (the) + ala (path) + kai (sea) | under 100 | |
| Kealoha | the love, the beloved | ke (the) + aloha (love) | The most common Hawaiian-language surname in the 2000 US census. | 911 |
| Keawe | the strand, an ancient chiefly line of Hawaiʻi Island | ke (the) + awe (strand) | 174 | |
| Kekahuna | the priest, the expert | ke (the) + kahuna (priest, master) | 323 | |
| Kekoa | the brave one | ke (the) + koa (brave) | 143 | |
| Kekumu | the source, the teacher | ke (the) + kumu (foundation, teacher) | under 100 | |
| Keliʻi | the chief | ke (the) + aliʻi (chief) | 175 | |
| Keola | the life | ke (the) + ola (life, health) | 205 | |
| Leialoha | beloved lei, beloved child | lei (garland, beloved child) + aloha (love) | 136 | |
| Mahoe | twin | māhoe (twin) | 225 | |
| Makua | parent, elder | makua (parent) | 133 | |
| Manu | bird | manu (bird) | Also a Samoan surname and an Indian given name and surname, so the census count is not all Hawaiian families. | 690 |
| Nakoa | the brave ones, the warriors | nā (the, plural) + koa (warrior) | 203 | |
| Naone | the sands | nā (the, plural) + one (sand) | 244 | |
| Pahinui | big knife | pahi (knife) + nui (big) | Gabby Pahinui was a pioneer of slack-key guitar. | under 100 |
| Palakiko | Hawaiian form of Francis or Francisco | Hawaiian spelling of a baptismal name | A reminder that some Hawaiian surnames began as Christian first names given at baptism. | 148 |
| Pele | lava, the volcano goddess | pele (lava, volcano, the goddess) | Also a Samoan and Tongan surname, so the census count is not all Hawaiian families. | 265 |
| Pili | close, clinging, belonging together | pili (close, clinging, to belong with) | Also a Samoan and Tongan surname, so the census count is not all Hawaiian families. | 306 |
| Waiau | swirling water | wai (water) + au (current) | under 100 |
The longest Hawaiian last name
The longest Hawaiian surname on record in modern news coverage is Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, 35 letters plus an ʻokina, 36 characters and 19 syllables. It belongs to Janice “Lokelani” Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele of Hawaiʻi Island, who took it when she married in 1992. State driver’s licences and ID cards had room for only 35 characters, so hers were issued with the last letter cut off and no first name. After she took the problem public in 2013, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation changed its cards to allow 40 characters for a last name, and she received a licence with her full name on 30 December 2013.
Among surnames common enough to appear in the census file, the longest Hawaiian-language names are Kaluhiokalani (13 letters, 131 people) and Keliʻihoʻomalu (12 letters, 111 people). For long first names, see long Hawaiian names.
How to read a Hawaiian surname
- Ka / Ke = the. Ka-hale is “the house”, Ke-awe is “the strand”.
- Nā = the (plural). Nā-koa is “the warriors”, Nā-one is “the sands”.
- Nui = big or great. Kahana-nui is “the great work”, Pahi-nui is “big knife”.
- Wai = fresh water and kai = sea. Wai-au is “swirling water”, Keala-kai is “the sea path”.
Looking for a first name instead? Browse Hawaiian girl names, boy names, the most common Hawaiian first names, or the full A to Z list.