Hawaiian surnames are unlike anything else you will find on a baby name list.
The Hawaiian language only has thirteen letters. Eight consonants and five vowels. And yet what comes out of those thirteen letters is some of the most musical and meaningful language in the world. Every word flows into the next. Every name sounds like it belongs to the ocean or the sky or the land itself.
What I find fascinating about Hawaiian surnames is how directly they connect to the natural world. You will not find many abstract meanings here. These names mean the rain. The mountain. The wave. The red sky at sunset. The Hawaiian people named themselves after what they saw and felt and loved, and that honesty is exactly what makes these names so beautiful.
Here are 105 Hawaiian last names and surnames with meanings.
Most Common Hawaiian Surnames With Meanings
If you have ever met someone from Hawaii, you have probably come across a few of these. They are the surnames that show up most often across the islands and in Hawaiian communities across the mainland US.
Knowing what they actually mean changes everything about how you hear them.
- Kahananui – the great work. A family that did things big.
- Kealoha – love. That is the whole meaning and honestly that is enough.
- Kamaka – the eye or the face.
- Kahanamoku – the many districts. Duke Kahanamoku carried this name and gave the world modern surfing.
- Kalani – the heavens or the royal one.
- Kekoa – warrior.
- Kamehameha – the lonely one or the one set apart. The great king who unified all the Hawaiian islands chose this as his name.
- Kahale – the house.
- Kaleo – the voice. Music and speech wrapped into one.
- Kaimana – the power of the ocean. Also means diamond. Pick whichever meaning you love more.
- Kailua – two seas meeting. Named after the bay where two currents come together on Oahu.
- Kaipo – sweetheart.
- Kala – sun or forgiveness. Light and grace in the same word.
- Kalama – the flaming torch.
- Kamalei – the lei of the beloved. Leis in Hawaii are not decoration. They are love made physical.
- Kamali – the child.
- Kamaoli – the true one.
- Kamuela – the Hawaiian form of Samuel, meaning God has heard.
- Kanoa – free.
- Kaonohiokala – the eyes of the sun. Say it out loud slowly. There is nothing else like it.
- Kapono – the righteous one.
- Kapu – sacred or forbidden. Connected to the ancient Hawaiian system of law that governed everything.
- Kawailoa – the long water.
- Keahi – fire.
- Keala – the pathway and the scent at the same time. Journey and fragrance in one name.
- Kealii – the chief.
- Kealoha – beloved.
Hawaiian Nature Surnames With Meanings
This is where Hawaiian naming really shows what it can do. The Hawaiians watched the natural world with extraordinary attention and they put what they saw directly into their names.
I genuinely think some of the most beautiful surnames on this entire list are right here.
- Keawe – the cord or the strand. Weaving and connection.
- Kehau – dew or mist. The moisture that sits on everything just before sunrise.
- Kekai – the sea.
- Kekahi – the other one.
- Kekaulike – equal balance. Fairness built into a name.
- Kelii – the chief.
- Keolanui – the great breath of life.
- Keone – the sand. Born from the beach itself.
- Kepoo – the hill.
- Koa – the warrior tree. Koa wood is the most prized in all of Hawaii, used for canoes and weapons and the most important things.
- Kohala – the northwestern district of the Big Island. Wind and dry land and ancient history.
- Koko – blood or inner strength.
- Kona – the dry, leeward side of the island. Where the famous coffee grows.
- Kuaana – the older sibling of the opposite sex. A very specific relationship made into a name.
- Kuhai – the standing wave.
- Kukui – the candlenut tree. The state tree of Hawaii and a symbol of light and guidance.
- Kula – open field. Sometimes gold.
- Kulani – near the heavens.
- Kumukahi – the first beginning. The easternmost point of the Big Island, the first place in Hawaii to see the sun rise every single day.
- Kupuna – elder or grandparent. In Hawaiian culture, kupuna are not just old. They are the keepers of everything that matters.
- Lani – sky or heaven or royal. You will find this word inside dozens of Hawaiian names.
- Lanihuli – the turning heavens.
- Lanikai – heavenly sea. One of the most beautiful beaches on earth carries this name.
- Laulima – many hands. The Hawaiian idea of community in a single word.
- Lehua – the flower of the ohia tree. The most sacred flower in Hawaii. You do not pick it lightly.
Hawaiian Surnames Connected To The Sky And Sea With Meanings
Hawaii sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The sky above it and the water around it are everything. It makes perfect sense that so many Hawaiian surnames look upward or outward.
These names are some of the most striking on this list. A few of them you will not find anywhere else.
- Liholiho – intense burning heat. Two Hawaiian kings carried this name.
- Liko – a leaf bud just opening. New growth, new beginning.
- Limaloa – long arm or far reaching.
- Loea – expert. Someone who truly knows their craft.
- Lono – god of agriculture, fertility, and peace in Hawaiian mythology. Captain Cook was mistaken for him when he arrived in 1779.
- Lua – pit or grave, but in some contexts also moon.
- Luahine – old woman. In Hawaiian culture this is said with reverence, not dismissal.
- Mahalo – gratitude. Everyone knows this word but not everyone knows it is also a surname.
- Mahina – moonlight.
- Mahinui – great moon.
- Maka – eye, face, and beginning all at once. Three meanings in four letters.
- Makaha – fierce. Also a famous surfing beach on Oahu’s west coast.
- Makai – toward the sea. The Hawaiian directional word for oceanward.
- Makana – the gift. One of the most meaningful surnames in Hawaiian.
- Makoa – fearless or bold.
- Malama – to care for or to protect. Light and responsibility together.
- Maleko – the Hawaiian form of Mark.
- Malie – calm or peaceful. The stillness after a storm.
- Mana – spiritual power or authority. The life force that flows through all things.
- Manoa – vast or deep. The name of the valley behind Honolulu known for its rain.
- Mauka – toward the mountain. The Hawaiian directional word for inland.
- Mauna – the mountain. As in Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
- Mawaena – in the middle or between.
- Mele – song or poem. A name of music and beauty.
- Mililani – to praise the heavens or to give thanks to royalty.
- Moana – the ocean or the deep sea. Wide open water in every direction.
- Moku – island or district or to cut. A name of separation and identity.
Rare Hawaiian Surnames With Meanings
These are the ones that almost nobody outside Hawaii has ever come across. A few of them come from the oldest layers of Hawaiian history. Others are place names from specific valleys and coastlines that became family names.
Every single one of them is real and every one has something worth knowing behind it.
- Naholowaa – the one who goes ahead. A name for a family of leaders.
- Nainoa – the one who calls or the searcher. Made famous by Nainoa Thompson, the master navigator who revived traditional Hawaiian wayfinding.
- Nakoa – the warriors. The plural of koa.
- Nalani – the heavens or the chiefs. Calm skies and high rank together.
- Namaka – the eyes. Also the name of the Hawaiian goddess of the sea.
- Nani – beautiful or glory.
- Naone – the sands. A family from the beach.
- Naupaka – the Hawaiian beach plant with half flowers that only bloom on one side. Connected to a famous love story.
- Nihoa – the small rocky island northwest of Kauai. Teeth of the cliff.
- Niho – the tooth or the teeth. Sharp and striking.
- Noa – freedom or release from restriction.
- Noelani – the mist of heaven or the heavenly girl.
- Nohea – handsome or lovely.
- Nuuanu – the cool height. The name of the famous pali pass above Honolulu.
- Ohana – family. The most famous Hawaiian concept of all.
- Ohelo – the ohelo berry, a sacred plant connected to the volcano goddess Pele.
- Okana – the Hawaiian form of Jordan.
- Okalani – from the heavens.
- Okoa – the clear one or the pure one.
- Olapa – the dancing leaves or the lightning. Movement and flash.
- Olelo – the language or the word. Speech itself as a family name.
- Oli – a chant or a chanted prayer. The Hawaiian oral tradition in a single word.
- Olokele – the sweet water stream. Named after a famous canyon on Kauai.
- Opuu – the bud or the sprout. New life beginning.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. 105 Hawaiian last names and surnames with meanings.
From the warrior strength of Kekoa to the tender warmth of Kealoha. From the poetic beauty of Kaonohiokala to the simple ocean depth of Moana. From the sacred fire of Keahi to the peaceful stillness of Malie.
Hawaiian surnames carry the islands inside them. The rain, the mountain, the sea, the sky. You can hear all of it when you say these names out loud.
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