This document provides definitions and translations for over 30 place names from across the Hawaiian islands, primarily from the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. Many of the place names refer to geographic features like valleys, streams, villages, and coastal areas. The definitions provide the literal translation of the names and sometimes brief contextual information about the places. The place names and their definitions are drawn from the reference book Place Names of Hawaii by Pukui, Elbert, and Moʻokini.

1. Ka Moʻolelo no ʻUmi:
Place Names
HWST 104

2. PLACE NAMES
• Waipiʻo
– Quadrangle, valley, land section,
bay, gulch, stream, and ancient
surfing place, north Hawaiʻi.
Lit., curved water
• Koholālele
– Land division and landing,
Hāmākua and Mauna Kea qds.
Lit., leaping whale
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)
Waipiʻo

3. PLACE NAMES CONT.
• Kaʻāwikiwiki
– Land section and stream,
Hāmākua qd, Hawaiʻi. Lit, the
ʻāwikiwiki vine
• Hōʻea
– Land section and stream,
Kohala qd., Hawaiʻi. Lit., to
arrive
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)
ʻāwikiwiki vine

4. PLACE NAMES CONT.
• Kealakaha
– Land section and stream,
Hāmākua qd. The birthplace of
ʻUmi, son of Lī loa by
ʻAkahiakuleana. Li., the turning
road
• Wailoa
– River, Waipiʻo qd., Hawaiʻi. Lit.,
long water
• Koakea
– Area at Waipiʻo, Hawaiʻi. Lit.,
white koa tree
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)
Wailoa

5. PLACE NAMES CONT.
• Kukuihaele
– Village above Waipiʻo Valley,
Waipiʻo qd., Hawaiʻi. Lit.,
traveling light (night marchers
were seen here)
• Waipunalei
– Land division and gulch,
Mauna Kea qd., Hawaiʻi,
where ʻUmi lived incognito
and in poverty. Lit., lei spring
water
Waipunalei
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

6. PLACE NAMES
• Laupāhoehoe
– Land sections, Hāmākua,
Honomū, Mauna Kea, and
Waipiʻo qds; stream, Hāmākua
and Mauna Kea qds; village,
peach park, point and ancient
surfing area where ʻUmi was
bruised while surfing
incognito before becoming a
chief. Lit., smooth lava flat
Laupāhoehoe
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

7. PLACE NAMES
• Hōkuli
– Place near Laupāhoehoe, Hawaiʻi where ʻUmi hid his god
when he was living incognito and in poverty
• Kapulena
– Plantation, Waipiʻo qd. Hawaiʻi, named for the king shark
of Hāmākua
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

8. PLACE NAMES
• Honokaʻa
– Town, Hāmākua qd, Hawaiʻi.
Lit., rolling (as stones) bay
• Pāʻauhau
– Village, gulch, and land
sections, Hāmākua, Mauna Kea,
and Waikiʻi qds, Hawaiʻi. Lit.,
tribute enclosure
Honokaʻa
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

9. PLACE NAMES
• Kalōpā
– Land sections, gulch, Hāmākua and
Mauna Kea qds, Hawaiʻi. Lit., the
tenant farmer
• Kawaihae
– Land sections and road, Kohala and
Waipiʻo qds; village, bay, harbor,
lighthouse, trail, uplands, surfing
area, Kohala qd; Lit. the water of
wrath (people are said to have fought
for water from a pool in this arid
area)
Kalōpā
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

10. PLACE NAMES
• Kapueokahi
– Port and harbor of Hāna,
Maui. Lit., the single owl
• Hāna
– Quadrangle, village, bay,
surfing area, beach park,
forest reserve, East Maui.
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

11. PLACE NAMES
• Kaʻuiki
– Head, point, and lighthouse,
Hāna, Maui. Lit., the glimmer
• Honuaʻula
– Heiau for human sacrifices,
Waipiʻo Valley, Hawaiʻi. Lit.,
red land
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

12. PLACE NAMES
• Kanukuokamanu
– Ancient surfing area, Waiākea, Hilo
qd. Lit., the beak of the bird (the
place was thought to be shaped like
a bird’s beak)
• Waiākea
– Land section, Hilo suburb, forest
reserve, stream, Hilo qd Lit., broad
waters
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

13. PLACE NAMES
• Poliʻahu
– Land division on
Mauna Kea,
Hawaiʻi. Named for
the snow goddess.
Lit., garment for
the bosom
(referring to snow)
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

14. PLACE NAMES
• Waiānuenue
– Old name for Rainbow Falls, Hilo,
Hawaiʻi. Lit., rainbow (seen in) water
• Puʻuʻeo
– Elevated place in Hilo qd.
• Kuolo
– Area near Keaʻau, Puna, Hawaiʻi, where
the Puna chief Huaʻā was defeated, thus
giving control of Puna to ʻUmi. Lit., to
rub
Waiānuenue
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

15. PLACE NAMES
• Kamakahonu
– Land division, Kailua,
Hawaiʻi. Lit., the turtle
eye
• Keōpū
– Land section, Kaila qd,
Kona, Hawaiʻi. Lit., the
bunching together
Kamakahonu
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

16. PLACE NAMES
• Waimanu
– Land sections,
village, bay,
stream, and valley,
Waipiʻo qd,
Hawaiʻi. Lit., bird
water
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)

17. PLACE NAMES
• Pololū
– Large valley, Waipiʻo qd,
Hawaiʻi. Lit., long spear
• Kī pahulu
– Forest reserve, quadrangle,
village, district and valley,
East Maui. Lit., fetch from
exhausted gardens
Pololū
As taken from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (Pūkuʻi, Elbert & Moʻokini)