Pomai Is Not Hawaiian?

Aloha,

I have put out some heavy newsletters recently so let's lighten the mood a little this week.

I want to talk about shortening Hawaiian names. Most people are not aware of this, and if that is you, your mind is about to be blown.

It is not uncommon to hear locals shorten the names of family and friends, but where they choose to shorten the name often makes no sense in Hawaiian. To be clear, you can shorten long Hawaiian names for daily use. The key is knowing where to cut.

Let's say a small child named Kapomaikaimakamaekauikalewalani (made up name) is about to run into the road. We do not have time to say the whole name before it is too late. So we might pull a word from the full name and call the child Pomaikai or Lani.

What you cannot do is call the child Pomai. Pomaikai is the full word. Pomai has no meaning. Po and maikai are separate words, and Pomai is simply the wrong place to cut the name. No ifs, ands, or maybes about it.

The same goes for names like Puna for Kupuna, Kana for Makana, Kau for Kaulana, and Ku for Kuulei. This includes the 'z' that locals like to add to names like Kaikz for Ikaika or Lanz for Kaulana.

The name that recently prompted this newsletter was Manaiakalani. You might recognize it from the story of Maui we covered a few weeks back. A friend asked me how to shorten it and here was my explanation.

The name has four recognizable words: Manai-a-ka-lani. The options for a shortened name are Manai, Kalani, or Lani. Now, most people say Manaia, but including that ‘a’ at the end one funny kine ting fo do. It does not make sense. If you want the a, you have to say the whole name.

I then said the name Jeffrey. How do you shorten that? He said, Jay or Jeff. I said, what about Jeffer? He said, "Oh. That's weird." I said, well, I rest my case. Calling someone Manaia is just as weird, and more importantly, you lose all the meaning.

I am sure some of you have names you want to run by me. If so, I have two requests. First, give me the full name and its meaning. Second, give me the shortened version you have heard or been using.

Mahalo for reading. Take care.

Na'u no,

Maluhia