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Topic: Hawaiian middle names? |
Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 8:35 am |
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As an amateur linguist (and PSG-er), I am interested in names. This area is called onomastics.
How does a person get a Hawaiian "middle" name: for example, Don Kona Woods, or George Keoki Lake? Do you choose it yourself? Is a name "awarded" to you (as with some American Indians, as a result of a spiritual quest resulting in a vision, which would then result in a name, like Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse)?
Don? George?
Chris from Providence
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 8:43 am
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| Quote: |
| As an amateur linguist |
I'm a cunning one. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 9:26 am
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Find Your Hawaiian Name
Rick "Lika" Aiello ... 
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Aiello's House of Gauss
My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 9:33 am
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Gerald 'Kelala' Ross
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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 04 February 2005 at 09:33 AM.] |
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Russ Young
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 9:44 am
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As soon as I spotted this thread, I just knew that Howard "Haoa" R was going to be right there with a response.
For that, he gets a ri'imshot!
Russ "Luke" Young
(I hope that's pronounced "Loo-kay")[This message was edited by Russ Young on 04 February 2005 at 09:44 AM.] |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 9:44 am
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Thanks guys.
Howard R., you must indeed be 'clever.'
I got a reply by e mail from Wallace giving me the following source.
www.alohafriends.com/names.html
He says Chris = Kilika. Makes sense; I remember from my year in Hawaii (1953) that Merry Christmas is Mele Kilikimaka (spelling?)
Aloha, all.
Chris Kilika Brooks |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 9:56 am
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Russ, I'll bet every time Howard is in Hawaii he stops off at the Haoa house!
Chris |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 10:03 am
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| Quote: |
| Is a name "awarded" to you |
The guys in my old band use to call me ...
Rick "Pakalolo" Aiello.
I can't seem to find that one on the list ... 
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Smiley Roberts
From:
Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 11:06 am
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Well,I guess I'm just "s.o.l." for my name.
No "Smiley" there.  'Course,if there were,it would probably be something like "Poo-Poo",or something similar. 
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~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
www.ntsga.com
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 11:52 am
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Chris you missed a our resident indian given name Crowbear...!
Kawika Laileke Konala
That's me![This message was edited by David L. Donald on 04 February 2005 at 11:56 AM.] |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 2:31 pm
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Hi Rick:
Since I have been so slow to respond, the other guys have correctly identified the source for most all of our common names in Hawaiian.
Since you asked me to explain how I got the name Kona or perhaps began to use it, I will briefly explain. I was called Kona by an older gentleman in the Aloha Steel Guitar Club with whom I was associated in a round robin tape club and began to refer to it afterwards in my mailings.
Since I lived in Hawaii for 14 years in Makiki and Kailua on the island of Oahu, it was easy for me to identify with my Hawaiian name Kona (Don).
Thanks for asking.
Aloha nui aloha,
Kona |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 3:44 pm
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There's two kinds of Hawaiian names.
First, there's the Hawaiian-ized English name--phonetic substitution, if you will. For example, Kawika=David, Kona=Don, Keoki=George.
Then there are the names with meaning. For example, Kanai'a="The Dolphin" and Nani="Beautiful". My Hawaiian name is Kanalu or "The Wave" (note that this is entirely seperate from Jeff or Jeffrey or Gottfried or the German translation of that).
I've seen my English name (Jeffrey) as Iepele on keychains in the tourist kitsch stores. I wouldn't consider that a "translation"...it's really a transliteration. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 4 Feb 2005 11:58 pm
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Since I have been mentioned, please allow me to explain "Keoki"...I did NOT take it out of a book as many often do. My name was given to me at a time when my wife and I were made "ohana" to the Ka'aihue Family in Napili, Mau'i. I felt extremely honored to have been given a Hawaiian name by Hawaiians. Today, I am known to all my old friends in Hawai'i as "Keoki", (seldom George). The Ka'aihui family, (Mirium and Herman, both recently deceased...2004) were in-laws to the great falsetto singer Joe Secretario, ("E Mama E" fame), whom I knew very well. The family took this "ohana" blessing upon my wife and I very seriously as, when Joe eventually returned to Hawai'i after living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for so many years, a great celebration was held at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel to welcome him home to the islands. My wife and I happened to be in Waikiki at that time. We popped over to the hotel just to say "hello" to everyone, planning to leave immediately. However when the family saw us coming up the escalator to the ballroom second floor, Mirium and her sister-in-law Josephine Secretario burst into tears of typical Hawaiian happiness and would not permit us to leave. We were directed to sit with the family and enjoyed about 4 hours of the finest entertainment in Hawai'i, as they honored Joe. When all was pau, (finished), family photos were taken.
We endeavored to excuse ourselves from the photo session, but here again, we were reminded we are "ohana" (extended family). We were included in the family photos...the only haoles amongst some wonderful Hawaiian people.
There were other times and events, however the above should suffice and also explain why I am so proud to be known as "Keoki".
Incidently, and not relating to this explanation, it is interesting to note the famous MARY KAYE (jazz) TRIO has its' roots in the Ka'aihue family as her name was really Mary Ka'aihue...sadly, I never had the pleasure of meeting her.  [This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 04 February 2005 at 11:59 PM.] [This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 05 February 2005 at 12:00 AM.] (Edited for grammer)[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 05 February 2005 at 12:02 AM.] |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 5:51 am
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| Jokes aside, I find this is a very interesting topic. Thanks for the informative explantions and warm story. |
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Russ Young
From:
Seattle, Washington, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 6:18 am
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Howard, that's an interesting topic in its own right ...
(Seriously, I join Howard in being quite interested in what I'm reading here. I'm glad Chris asked the question.) |
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Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 6:22 am
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| How cool! Thanks for sharing that, Keoki! |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 7:34 am
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| I guess what I am saying, I would never have used the name "Keoki" were it not given to me by a Hawaiian. |
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George Rout
From:
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 5:47 pm
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| Jeff...Keoki will confirm that it's very cool in Edmonton, especially at the present!!!! |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 5 Feb 2005 9:44 pm
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| Yah, it hit only 18 below last night...nice and balmy compared to a few weeks ago when we hit 42 below for about two days. Eat your hearts out folks! |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 7 Feb 2005 8:35 am
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Thanks very much for your replies, gang. As I said, names is an area of special interest for me.
David, I chatted with Crowbear from Paris last month . . . but he didn't call me any special names . . . ha ha.
Don, the Big Island has the Kona Coast, doesn't it? Also a type of coffee?
Jeff, thanks for confirming that yes, one can indeed have a name bestowed on oneself, such as Nani or Kanalu. (Is there one for "Tall Boy"? I am 6' 6" !)
And George, I appreciate your background information for several reasons.
For one thing, I lived in Honolulu in 1953. Dad was stationed at Pearl for a year. We lived in Kaimuki and I attended 3rd grade at Waialae School. As a result, I got intrigued with Hawaii and with foreign lanaguages and cultures. This interest has stayed with me, a lifelong traveler and resident in 4 foreign countries over 12 years.
Also, you mentioned Mary Kaye. I played guitar for her around 1966, for several weeks in Las Vegas, and then at her nightclub in North Hollywood, occasionally with her father, "Johnny Ukelele," a gracious and charming man. (Mary was a great guitarist on her big D'Angelico; I don't know why she hired me to play . . . ). I knew that she was part Hawaiian, but now I know "the rest of the story" of her family, thanks to you.
She was very supportive of my budding musical career. You would have liked her.
Thanks for refreshing old memories.
Chris Kilika Brooks
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 9 Feb 2005 11:10 am
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| Chris, yes..JOHNNY UKULELE..an oversight on my part. I never met him either, but I have one of his recordings somewhere in all this mess. You must be a very good guitarist to sit alongside of Mary Kaye. Tell me, if she has passed away, do you recall the year ? I'm fairly certain she is no longer with us (?) |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 9 Feb 2005 1:30 pm
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| Whoa, no... Mary Kaye is still with us, as far as I know. Same goes for her brother, Norman. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 9 Feb 2005 8:01 pm
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| Thanks Jeff...glad to hear they are still around...but where ? and are they still playing ? |
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