Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Honolulu” come from?

Honolulu comes from Hawaiian hono, a word of unknown meaning that was applied to the Hawaiian capital city.

Ancestry of “Honolulu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1HawaiianHonolulu—
2Hawaiianlulushelter
3Proto-Oceanic*ruru—
Every word from Proto-Oceanic *ruru →