'Kekoa' or 'Koa' - which is the more popular boy's name? (home, live in)

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by missingpattaya

I named my daughter Malana. Meaning "light' or "Buoyant light." It can also be a male name but I don't think that sound right.

None of the -a names sound right to me as male names, because I'm an Indo-European language speaker. It's different when people spend their whole lives hearing the Hawaiian names I guess.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

How would "Koana" sound for a girl's name?

Is there any similar meanings in Hawaii, that might make that a negative sounding name?

"Koana" ("spacing", "bruised"), on its own, would be a somewhat unfortunate name for a person of any gender. "Ko'ana" ("sediment", "bladder") would be even worse, while "Koanā ("pacified soldier") and "Kōana ("sugar cane measurement") aren't too bad. However, one should keep in mind that there are other languages used in Hawai'i besides Hawaiian. For instance, "Koana" in Japanese can mean "little hole" (小穴), which has all sorts of connotations.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by missingpattaya

I named my daughter Malana. Meaning "light' or "Buoyant light." It can also be a male name but I don't think that sound right.

I hope that "Malana" is a typo, because it doesn't exactly mean "light" or "buoyant light" in Hawaiian.

"Malana" means to "stretch out" or "spread out" and it's a somewhat unfortunate name for a girl (unless she's a prostitute)...

"Mālana" means "buoyant" or "light" (as in "able to float"), which seems to be the name that was intended. Unfortunately, "Mālana" also means "unsteady" and "shallow-rooted" (ie. "flighty"). While "Mālana" is better than "Malana", it's not a particular great name to saddle a child with...

"Malama" means "light" (as in "illumination") and it's a fairly decent name for a child...

Sometimes, names that are euphonious ("pleasing to the ear") to English speakers have unfortunate meanings and connotations in Hawaiian (and other languages). For the Hawaiian language in particular, the spelling and vowel stress can drastically alter the meaning or meanings of words and phrases.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

"Koana" ("spacing", "bruised"), on its own, would be a somewhat unfortunate name for a person of any gender. "Ko'ana" ("sediment", "bladder") would be even worse, while "Koanā ("pacified soldier") and "Kōana ("sugar cane measurement") aren't too bad. However, one should keep in mind that there are other languages used in Hawai'i besides Hawaiian. For instance, "Koana" in Japanese can mean "little hole" (小穴), which has all sorts of connotations.

Thanks for the great reply! Interesting.

[Tiger Beer]

As an aside, so Koa can be a name to give a dog, but it is also a name that some people are given?

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

As an aside, so Koa can be a name to give a dog, but it is also a name that some people are given?

Yes, some people have just "Koa" as a given name. Simple names, like "Koa", "Pōhaku" ("rock" or "stone"), "Kai" ("sea" or "sea water"), etc. were usually used by the kauwā (the "slave caste" or "outcasts" of Hawai'i, similar to the burakumin of Japan). Nowadays, some simple Hawaiian names can be found in many "baby name" books or lists.

[lane_change]

So Kai is one of the most popular boy names in Hawaii? Our son is named Kai, but we live on the mainland and I have never met another Kai. We are debating a move to Hawaii, at least his name will fit in. Our other son is Ari, his name may not be as popular over there.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by lane_change

So Kai is one of the most popular boy names in Hawaii? Our son is named Kai, but we live on the mainland and I have never met another Kai. We are debating a move to Hawaii, at least his name will fit in. Our other son is Ari, his name may not be as popular over there.

Yes, "Kai" is one of the more popular names in Hawai'i. While it means "sea" or "sea water" in Hawaiian, "Kai" also has meanings in other languages, such as Egyptian, Greek, Finnish, Japanese, Mandarin, Maori, Turkish, and Welsh and it is often used as a first name for boys in several countries. For the most part, traditional Hawaiian names are "gender-neutral." However, there are also "Hawaiianized" names that are "gender-specific." Usually, these are names that were taken from English, Spanish, French, German, and other languages and simply transliterated into Hawaiian. For instance, "Mary" or "Maria" became "Malia", "George" became "Keoki", "Diana" became "Kiana", and so on. Ironically, the non-Hawaiian name "Kai" has the neat property of remaining the same when it's transliterated into Hawaiian. "Ali", "Amelia", "Ana", "Ema", "Elena", "Hana", "Hope", "Kale", "Leila", "Lupe", "Mei", "Mona", "Nikolai", and "Paulo" are some of the other names that remain unchanged when transliterated into Hawaiian as well.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by lane_change

So Kai is one of the most popular boy names in Hawaii? Our son is named Kai, but we live on the mainland and I have never met another Kai. We are debating a move to Hawaii, at least his name will fit in. Our other son is Ari, his name may not be as popular over there.

I know a 7-year-old KAI. His mom is Chinese, and his Dad is caucasian. I figured it was probably the Chinese influence.....but unsure. (I'm living in Japan).

ARI is a popular female's name in Japan. Well, actually, it's 'Eri' here.

[lane_change]

I grew up in Japan and Kai meant Ocean to us, but we notice that it was also of Hawaiian heritage (which has a lot of Japanese influence) and meant Sea. I just had no idea it was that popular of a name.

Ari is actual a Hebrew name meaning Lion, but we appreciate more unique names that are not completely off the wall, but also not your regular Tom, Dick, and Harry type names. Again, we've never met another Kai, but we don't live in Hawaii....just debating it.