Polynesian and South Sea Islander Names
Updated Sat May 17 2025
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As Hawaiian names become more visible and more popular internationally, interest has grown in names throughout the South Sea Islands.
Disney's Moana put a spotlight on several Polynesian mythology names, including the Hawaiian place name Maui. Other names from Polynesian mythology gaining wider visibility include Tane, a powerful sky god, and Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess.
Adding to their appeal, many of these names have stylish nature meanings related to the sea, sky, or flowers.
In this group of Polynesian names and South Sea Island namers, we also include Fijian names, Tahitian names, Tongan names, and Maori names. Here is our full list of names from the Polynesian and South Sea islands, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Maia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"mother"Description:
Maia was derived from the Greek word maia, meaning "mother." In Greek legend, she was the fair-haired daughter of Atlas who mothered Zeus's favorite illegitimate son, Hermes. To the Romans, Maia was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May. Maya is the more common spelling.
- Kirrily
Origin:
Aboriginal, AustralianMeaning:
"tree bark or leaf"Description:
Kirrily, which rhymes with cheerily, is a name that's uniquely popular in Australia. It originated in recent decades as an elaboration of several similar names – the European Kyra or Keira, the Maori Kiri which means tree bark, or the Aboriginal word kira which means leaf – plus the lee sound.
- Kane
Origin:
CelticMeaning:
"warrior"Description:
A name of multiple identities: a somewhat soap-operatic single-syllable surname, a homonym for the biblical bad boy Cain, and, when found in Japan and Hawaii, it transforms into the two syllable KA-neh. Kane also has multiple meanings: in Welsh, it's "beautiful"; in Japanese, "golden"; and in Hawaiian, "man of the Eastern sky."
- Maeva
Origin:
TahitianMeaning:
"welcome"Description:
Though it sounds like a variation of the Irish Maeve, Maeva actually hails from Tahiti, and is currently enjoying a wave of popularity in France, where it ranks in the Top 100, possibly via popular French folk singer and actress Maeva Meline.
- Manu
Origin:
Finnish, Maori, Hawaiian, SanskritMeaning:
"greatest; bird; wise"Description:
An international name that, although short and simple, sounds strong and distinctive.
- Kai
Origin:
HawaiianMeaning:
"sea"Description:
This appealing multi-cultural name, pronounced KYE, is beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. Among its many derivations and meanings: "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese, "willow tree" in Navajo, "food" in Maori, and "earth" in Scandinavian. For girls, it debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2010.
- Ana
Origin:
Variation of HannahMeaning:
"grace"Description:
Confident and compact, Ana is a widely used variation of the Biblical Hannah. Favored in Spain, Slovenia, Bosnia, Portugal, and Croatia, this shorter spelling has the same substance and versatility of its longer counterparts.
- Malakai
Origin:
Fijian and Tongan form of MalachiDescription:
Malakai puts a South Sea Island spin on the Biblical Malachi, which may be just what It needs to fit in with contemporary trends.
- Kauri
Origin:
Maori or FinnishMeaning:
"tree or deer"Description:
A Maori name derived from a type of tree native to New Zealand's North Island.
- Tane
Origin:
Maori, TahitianMeaning:
"man, male"Description:
In Maori mythology Tāne (also called Tāne Mahuta) was the god of forests and birds, son of the sky god Rangi and the earth goddess Papa. Tāne was the one who pushed his powerful parents apart to create the land and sky.
- Nikau
Origin:
MaoriMeaning:
"palm tree"Description:
Nikau is among the most popular Maori names for boys in New Zealand. It sounds like a cousin to Nicholas, but Nikau is actually the name of a palm tree native to the islands.
- Tai
Origin:
ChineseMeaning:
"great extreme"Description:
Tai, which rhymes with Kai, is a unisex name with a range of international references. It means the equivalent of "too much" in Chinese but is also used as a Maori name meaning "the tide" and in Romanian means "yours." While it's only ever ranked in the U.S. Top 1000 as a girls' name, during the height of the popularity of Olympic skater Tai Babilonia, Tai makes a simple intriguing modern choice for either gender.
- Kiri
Origin:
MaoriMeaning:
"tree bark"Description:
The name Kiri was made famous by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, whose original name was Claire. Cute but slight, Kiri is close to several other names from Kiriah to Keira to Kyra and its diminutive Kyrie.
- Anahera
Origin:
MaoriMeaning:
"angel"Description:
This feminine name — simply "angel" imported into Māori phonology — is fresher than Angela and less Hollywood than Angelina.
- Anahera
Origin:
MaoriMeaning:
"angel"Description:
This feminine name — simply "angel" imported into Māori phonology — is fresher than Angela and less Hollywood than Angelina.
- Moana
Origin:
Maori, SamoanMeaning:
"deep ocean, sea"Description:
This Maori name, often heard in New Zealand, is an attractive, evocative choice for lovers of the ocean made famous – perhaps too famous – by the Disney heroine. Moana was also an alternate name for the heroine Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth. Moana may also be a color name for a deep ocean blue ("lanu moana"). Moana and other Disney Princess Names are the subject of a featured blog.
- Maui
Origin:
Hawaiian, Polynesian mythologyDescription:
The name of the second-biggest (and third-most populous) island in Hawaii was one of the fastest-rising boys' names of 2017. A major factor was surely Dwayne Johnson's character in Moana, the Polynesian demigod named Maui, a mythological trickster who slowed the sun to create the days. (It fell back to normal levels in the following years.)
- Heremoana
Origin:
TahitianMeaning:
"beloved ocean"Description:
Moana may be the best-known South Sea Islander name thanks to Disney. This puts a male spin on the appealing nature name.
- Tua
Origin:
Samoan, Indonesian, LatinMeaning:
"stand, rise; old, ripe; yours"Description:
Succinct and deceptively simple, Tua is a multicultural, unisex choice with a variety of meanings. It is most notably borne by NFL player, Tua Tagovailoa.
- Manaia
Origin:
MaoriMeaning:
"embellishment; spiritual messenger"Description:
Manaia is one of the most popular gender-neutral names in New Zealand, on that country's Maori Top 10 for boys but used nearly equally for girls.
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