Given name & surname
Kainoa
“the”·“name; namesake”
Kainoa is a masculine given name from Hawaiian. It is used in Hawaiian.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kainoa is built from elements meaning “the” and “name; namesake”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kainoa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,696
- 2,656 boys · 40 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 105 babies
- 2025
- 95
- #1,716 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 95 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,716 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 0.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 105 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,999 as a first name in 2020; 120 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kainoa’s family of names
The ring: spellings.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Kainoa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kekoa
“a warrior”
>99% boys
Kanoa
“one who is free”
96% boys · 4% girls
Kaimana
“diamond”
77% boys · 23% girls
Nakoa
“brave”
92% boys · 8% girls
Keanu
“resembling a cool mountain breeze” · “of the mountain breeze”
99% boys · 1% girls
Makoa
“brave”
99% boys · 1% girls
Kaleo
“the” · “voice, tune”
>99% boys
Koa
“a fearless man”
90% boys · 10% girls