town · Kauaʻi

Kapaʻa

“the solid, the closing”

kah-PAH-ah

The largest town on Kauaʻi's east side.

The solid

Kapaʻa reads as ka paʻa — the solid, the firm, the closed. Paʻa is one of the most-used words in Hawaiian and covers anything held fast.

The east side of Kauaʻi is called the Coconut Coast, and Kapaʻa is its centre — a plantation town that outlived the plantations.

Sources

Hawaiian Dictionary, Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1986. Used for word meanings and spellings.
Place Names of Hawaii, Pukui, Elbert, and Esther T. Mookini, University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1974. Used for island, town, and volcano names.
Nānā i ke Kumu (Look to the Source), Pukui, Haertig, and Lee, Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Center, 1972. Used for naming customs.
Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (wehewehe.org), Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. Used for checking each word against the online dictionary.
Hawaiian given names, Wiktionary category, Creative Commons BY-SA. Used for attested names and gender.
Popular Baby Names by State, U.S. Social Security Administration. Used for popularity.

Uncertain meanings are marked on the page. Modern combinations of name elements are labeled as such. Read how this site is compiled or send a correction.