Hawaiian5 syllablesRoyal, historical
Meaning: the one set apart; the lonely one.
Kamehameha
| Origin | Hawaiian — the article ka joined to mehameha |
|---|---|
| Meaning | The lonely one, the one set apart, from ka (the) + mehameha (lonely, solitary, forlorn, deserted) |
| Pronunciation | kah-MEH-hah-MEH-hah, five syllables, the pattern repeating in the middle |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100, and outside ordinary naming altogether. This is a royal name in Hawaii rather than one parents pick from a list |
| Variants | None. The five kings are distinguished by number, Kamehameha I through V, not by spelling |
| Nicknames | Not shortened. In Hawaii the word is used whole or not at all |
| Birth name | Kamehameha I was born Paiʻea. The name he is known by was applied later |
History & meaning
The word divides as ka mehameha, the article plus mehameha, which the dictionary gives as lonely, solitary, forlorn, deserted. The article works as it does in Kanoa and the family of names Keanu sets out. Applied to a person the sense is closer to the one set apart, the solitary one, and it was not the name he was born with. The child born in Kohala on Hawaii Island around 1758 was Paiʻea, the hard-shelled crab. Kamehameha came later, and it fits a man raised in concealment because of a prophecy that he would be a killer of chiefs.
He made the prophecy good. Between 1782 and 1795 he took Hawaii Island, Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu by force, and in 1810 Kauaʻi's chief Kaumualiʻi accepted his authority by negotiation, leaving the archipelago under a single ruler for the first time. He is also remembered for Kānāwai Māmalahoe, the Law of the Splintered Paddle of 1797, which guaranteed the safety of non-combatants on the roads and is written into the Hawaii state constitution to this day. Four more kings carried the name until the line ended with Kamehameha V in 1872. Kamehameha Day, 11 June, has been a public holiday since 1871, and Kamehameha Schools, endowed by the will of the last direct descendant, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, has educated Hawaiian children since 1887.
Why parents choose it
Mostly they do not, and that is the important thing to say. In Hawaii this name belongs to the monarchy, to a holiday, to statues and to a school, and giving it to a baby is not read as a style choice but as a claim. Where it appears in families today it is usually in the middle slot, honouring lineage or history, behind a first name of ordinary size. Visitors drawn to the sound of it should know what they would be putting on a child's paperwork.
Middle names for Kamehameha
Because it functions as a middle name rather than a first, the useful pairings run the other way: Kai Kamehameha, Koa Kamehameha, Ikaika Kamehameha, Kāwika Kamehameha. Each keeps the first name short so the second can be said in full without the whole thing collapsing. The middle names guide covers long middle names generally.
Famous Kamehamehas
Kamehameha I, called the Great, unified the islands and founded the kingdom. Kamehameha II, Liholiho, presided over the collapse of the kapu system in 1819 and died of measles in London five years later. Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, reigned thirty years and gave Hawaii its first constitution in 1840. Kamehameha IV and V followed, and the dynasty ended in 1872.
Consider instead
If it is the royal register you want, Kalani is the heavens and, by extension, the high chief, and is genuinely given today. Kekoa, the warrior, carries strength without claiming a dynasty. Ikaika simply means strong and asks nothing of the bearer's ancestry. The Hawaiian names page lists what is in ordinary use today, and the K names page lists more.