International Baby Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 4 pages
of 4
Maori
"angel"
This feminine name — simply "angel" imported into Māori phonology — is fresher than Angela and less Hollywood than Angelina.
Māori
"love"
This beautiful Māori name meaning love (cognate with Hawaiian aloha ) is more wearable than the English word and softer Venus or Aphrodite. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern named her…
"palm tree"
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.
"teardrop, tears"
A Maori name famously borne by NZ actress Roimata Fox. The winner of the 2015 series of New Zealand's The X Factor sang a love song about a woman with this name.
Maori, Meskwaki
"son or boy; crash of thunder"
A simple, easily-translated Maori name that coincides with a stormy Meskwaki name (also spelled Taimah) used as a country and city name in the US.
Tahitian
"heavenly crown; heavenly flowers"
The Tahitian variation of Leilani.
"flower crown"
Heitiare is a classic Tahitian name that's virtually unknown in the US.
"beloved ocean"
Moana may be the best-known South Sea Islander name thanks to Disney. This puts a male spin on the appealing nature name.
"big love"
The Tahitian roots of Herenui are here , which means love, and nui , which means big. So this South Sea Islander name can be translated as "big love".
"sky"
In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Rangi or Ranginui was a god of the sky, husband of the earth goddess Papa or Papatuanuku. This strong and simple Māori name would make for a fresh celestial…
"sleep heaven"
Moerani is a gender-neutral Tahitian name that might be translated as sleep heaven or sleep sky, perhaps reflecting a wish for a peaceful baby.
This gender-neutral Tahitian name has a peaceful meaning.
"night cough"
This royal Tahitian name was borne by four kings and a queen of Tahiti. It was created after a royal baby died of a night cough, perhaps not the happiest meaning.
This gender-neutral royal name of Tahiti was inspired by the death of a child from a night cough, not the most positive reference especially in the age of Covid.
"child warrior"
Names that convey strength and power are popular today, and this Tahitian name makes a rare choice in the category.
"beloved water"
Tahitian names are not well-known beyond the South Sea islands, but with their nature meanings and the new popularity of Hawaiian names, they may travel far in the future.
"salt water"
This ocean-oriented name is one of the Tahitian names unknown in the wider world.
"water flower"
Tiare, which means flower, is also a name and would make a simpler South Sea Islander choice. Vaitiare adds a water element.
Erena is a feminine name with multiple cultural origins. In Māori tradition, it serves as a variant of Helen, meaning 'bright one' or 'shining light.' The name also appears in Japanese culture with…
