Given name
Kawena
“the”·“glow”
Kawena is a feminine given name from Hawaiian. It is used in Hawaiian.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kawena is built from elements meaning “the” and “glow”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1988. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kawena through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 196
- 15 boys · 181 girls
- Most popular year
- 2005
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #16,091 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 16,091 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 14 in 2005. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 256 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Similar names
If you love Kawena, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kamea
“the one and only; precious one”
3% boys · 97% girls
Keala
“the” · “path”
5% boys · 95% girls
Mehana
“a warm and friendly woman”
>99% girls
Kamalani
“child” · “sky”
>99% girls
Kanani
“the beautiful girl”
>99% girls
Makena
“one who is filled with happiness” · “man of abundance”
>99% girls
Kanoelani
“the” · “mist”
>99% girls
Kamaile
“the” · “maile vine”
>99% girls