Hawaiian, Samoan, Māori, and Tongan are sister languages, so the same names travel across the Pacific with small changes in sound. Start with a culture, or see the names they share.
Polynesian languages descend from a common ancestor spoken about 3,000 years ago. Hawaiian swapped t for k and r for l, Māori kept t and r, and Samoan and Tongan kept the older ng and f sounds. The same word for a name looks different but means the same thing.
Name
Meaning
Where it is used
Moana
ocean
Hawaiian, Samoan, Māori, Tongan
Manu
bird
Hawaiian, Samoan, Māori, Tongan
Māui
the demigod who snared the sun
Hawaiian, Māori, Tongan
Hina
the woman in the moon
Hawaiian, Tongan
Lani / Lagi / Langi / Rangi
sky, heaven
Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Māori
Kai / Tai
sea
Hawaiian. Māori kai means food
Toa / Koa
warrior
Samoan, Tongan / Hawaiian
Fetū / Hōkū / Whetū
star
Samoan, Hawaiian, Māori
Aloha / Alofa / ʻOfa / Aroha
love
Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Māori
Wai / Vai
water
Hawaiian and Māori / Samoan and Tongan
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Polynesian and Hawaiian names?⌄
Hawaiian names are one branch of Polynesian names. Polynesia also includes Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Aotearoa New Zealand (Māori). The languages are closely related, so a name like Moana is used in all of them.
Is Moana a Hawaiian or Polynesian name?⌄
Both. Moana means ocean in Hawaiian, Samoan, Māori, Tongan, and Tahitian. The 2016 film drew on all of these cultures rather than one.
Why do Polynesian names sound similar?⌄
They come from one ancestral language, Proto-Polynesian. Regular sound shifts turned t into k in Hawaiian (Tāne became Kāne) and r into l (Rangi became Lani), while Samoan and Tongan kept g/ng and f sounds that Hawaiian lost.