Maori
names are used by the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Ahu m MaoriMeans "to tend, to foster, to bring up" in Maori.
Amohia m MaoriMeans "carry on the shoulder" or "rush, charge" in Maori.
Aotea f MaoriMeans "white cloud" in Māori. Aotearoa is the Māori name of New Zealand
Arahia f MaoriPathfinder, feminine word for chief, leader, one who leads the way
Aria f MaoriĀria means "tidal pool" in Māori. Ariā means "idea, concept" in Māori.
Haere m MaoriPersonification of the rainbow in Māori myth.
Hinemoa f MaoriFrom the Maori
hine meaning "girl, daughter" and
moa, the Maori name of an extinct species of bird.
Hira f MaoriMeans "great, important" or "abundant" in Maori.
Hiwa f MaoriShort for Hiwa-i-te-rangi, one of the stars in Te Kāhui o Matariki. Hiwa means "active" in Māori.
Hone m MaoriMaori form of
John. Hone Tūwhare (21 October 1922 – 16 January 2008) was a noted Māori New Zealand poet.
Huriata f & m MaoriMaori name meaning "Turn Morning" "Dawn" Or "Daylight". Huri means to 'turn' or 'change' and Ata means 'Morning'.
Ihimaera f MaoriThis name in English even though possibly female before European contact means Ishmael. This is the name of Owenga and Otonga Moriori Ihimaera Rehe (d. 1903) who was a daughter of Owenga-Otonga chief and mother of the last full blooded Moriori Tommy Solomon.
Kaea m & f MaoriMeans "leader of dance/song" in Māori.
Kaewa f MaoriMeans "wanderer, traveller" in Maori.
Kahukura m & f MaoriMeans "red ocre cape" Māori. Personification of the rainbow in Māori myth along with Haere and Ōuenuku.
Kaihau m & f MaoriVariant of Te Kaihau meaning "cloud eater" in Māori.
Kara f MaoriVariant of Kare meaning "friend" in Maori.
Karamea f MaoriMeans "red ochre" in Maori. Also a loan word from English, meaning "caramel".
Kiti f MaoriThis name is a translation of the European name Kitty. This was the name of a Moriori and Ngāti Māmoe Maori woman named Kiti Karaka Rīwai (1870-1927) who was a founding mother who is the ancestor of Moriori Preece family (one of the surviving groups of Moriori today).
Kooti m MaoriThe name has various meanings apparently. The name is a transliteration of "Coates." This word in English means "court of law" and "prosecute." This was the name of Ringatū Church founder Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki (d... [
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Maehe f MaoriDerived from Maori
Māehe "(the month of) March".
Mahine f MaoriMeans "clean girl" or "white girl" in Maori.
Maia f MaoriMeans "courage, bravery" in Maori.
Mairangi f MaoriEtymology uncertain, possibly from the Maori
mai meaning "for ages, for a long time" and
rangi meaning "day" or "sky, heaven".
Makuku f MaoriMeans "pleasantness, friendliness" in Maori.
Manuka m MaoriA New Zealand name for the flowering shrub/tree whose scientific name is Leptospermum scoparium, famous for the strong honey produced from its blossoms. The tree gets its name from Maori tradition, because Manuka was the name of one of the great ocean-going canoes which brought the Maoris to New Zealand... [
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Matariki f MaoriMaori feminine name meaning "small eyes", the name of the Pleiades.
Matewa f & m MaoriFrom mate meaning "want, to be overcome" and wā meaning "duration" in Māori. Also transliteration of personal name Mathers.... [
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Matuku m & f MaoriMeans "white heron" in Māori. Also Kōtuku.
Meremere m & f MaoriThis name means "Venus as an evening star" and "star". This was the name of the Ngati Tama Chief of Kaingaroa, Meremere (d. 1860) who protected Moriori under him from other Maori chiefs during the Moriori genocide... [
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Nui m MaoriMeans "large, abundant, of high rank, important" in Maori.
Ōuenuku m MaoriPersonification of the rainbow in Māori myth. Also Uenuku.
Paki m MaoriThis name in English means fine weather. It's also a male personal name. This was the name of a Waikato Chief. This was the name of Paki Whara a Ngati Tama Elder who in the 1800s gather information on the Moriori and Chatham Islands which contributed to the invasion of Chatham Islands.
Pania f Maori, Polynesian MythologyMeans "water" in Māori. Pania, often styled 'Pania of the Reef', was the Māori goddess of water, and is a symbol of the New Zealand city of Napier. A known bearer is Pania Rose (1984-), an Australian model of partial Māori descent.
Patukawenga m MaoriThe meaning of this name has not just one meaning possibly due to the
Patu and
Kawenga portions of this name. Patu means "screen", "wall", "edge", etc. Kawenga means "burden". This was the name of the Senior Ngati Mutunga Chief Patukawenga (d... [
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Rauparaha m MaoriThis name in English is "calystegia sepium" a weedy vine or wildflower. New Zealand colonists mistranslated a person with this name "The Robuller." This is the name of Ngati Toa Chief Te Rauparaha (d... [
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Riu m MaoriMeans "core, basin" in Māori.
Rīwai m MaoriThis word in the Maori tongue is a general term for potato. This is not just a first name but a last name. This was the name of farmhand and son Wairua elder of Te Rōpiha, Rīwai Te Rōpiha. This is a middle name of Ngāi Tahu rugby player Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch (1925-1996).
Rongomai-whiti m Moriori, MaoriIn a Moriori migration tradition story this is the name of a god who travel with people heading to what is now the Chatham islands. The name in the Maori language is referring to a god. Its possibly an description of Rongo (high ranking Maori god) or Rongomai (Maori god).
Ruatapu m MaoriRuatapu tried to kill his half brother, Kahutia-te-rangi (who assumed the name Paikea) and drove him out, forcing him to survive by riding humpback whales to present day New Zealand
Rupe f MaoriFrom the Maori personification of the New Zealand pigeon or kererū.
Taia f MaoriMeans "to paint, to tattoo" in Māori.
Taika m MaoriMeans "tiger" in Māori. A notable bearer of this name is New Zealand actor and film director Taika Waititi (born 1975).
Taini f Maori (Rare)This is the name of Taini Morrison who was a Maori arts performer in New Zealand.
Takina m & f Popular Culture, MaoriMeans ‘required’ in
Maori. Also the name of a feral character appearing in the
Canadian Mockbuster film the Jungle Boy.
Tamaki m MaoriMaori name meaning the Auckland area of New Zealand.
Tamatea m MaoriMeans "moon on the eighth night of the lunar month" in Maori.
Tapu f MaoriMeans "sacred" and "forbidden" in Māori.
Tara f & m MaoriMeans "peak, point" in Māori. Also Māori for "sternidae".
Teao m & f MaoriMeans "the world, the day" in Māori.
Tearoha f & m MaoriMeans "the love" in Maori (
te, "the" and
aroha, "love"). A variant of
Aroha. May also be spelled Te Aroha.
Teina m & f Maorimeans "brother" in Maori language.
Tekaha m & f MaoriMeans "the strength, a ritual chant to give strength" in Māori.
Tekāhu m & f MaoriFrom
Te Kāhu meaning "harrier hawk" in Māori. Transliteration of "hawk".
Te Poki m MaoriThe possibly meaning of this name is, "to clear the garden." This was the name of a Senior Ngati Mutunga chief.
Tiaki m MaoriMaori form of
Jack, coinciding with the Maori word meaning "guard, keep">
Tio m MaoriMeans "freezing cold" in Māori. Also Māori form of
Joe Tipi f & m MaoriIt means “affect by incantations” and “pare, slice, pare off”. This is the name of a female cousin of Senior Ngati Mutunga Chief Patukawenga who was married to a Waikato chief of Ngatikoroki named Taui... [
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Toroa f & m MaoriDerived from Maori
toroa "albatross", ultimately from Maori
toro "to stretch; to extend".
Tui f & m MaoriTui is the Maori name for the bird (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), which are easily identified for their small tuft of white feathers at the neck.... [
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Waiata f & m MaoriMeans "song" in Maori. Combined with
Aroha it means "song of love, love song" Waiata-aroha.
Waitara f MaoriDerived from the Maori
waitara, possibly meaning "mountain stream" or "pure water".
Wharekura m MaoriThis name means "school of learning". Its also the name of a building where tohunga (priest) taught esoteric lore to students of his. This was the name of a Ngati Tama chief named Te Wharekura of the Ngati Wai Ngati Tama clan who along with his clan killed and cooked 50 Moriori in the mid-1800s at Te Raki in what is now Chatham Islands.
Winika f MaoriFrom the Maori name of Christmas orchids (
Dendrobium cunninghamii), a type of orchid that is endemic to the New Zealand. This name could also be written as
Te Winika, which means "the Christmas orchid".