Given name & surname
Moana
“woman of the ocean”
Moana is used as a given name and a surname. One Hawaiian interpretation is “woman of the ocean.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hawaiian interpretation is “woman of the ocean.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hawaiian.
How it developed
From Hawaiian Moana (“sea, ocean”), from Māori moana.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1941. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Moana through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,146
- 0 boys · 1,146 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 141 babies
- 2025
- 35
- #4,141 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 35 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,141 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 40.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 141 in 2017. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,016 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.
Moana’s family of names
Moana has a related form in Moaenne. Moana has a related form in Moanah. Moana has a related form in Moane.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Moana
- Moana Carcasses KalosilVanuatuan politicianborn 1963
- Moana Moo-CailleFrench racing cyclistborn 1988
- Moana DelleGerman windsurferborn 1989
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Moana, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nova
“new; a bright star” · “a butterfly chaser”
5% boys · 95% girls
Mohala
“resembling the unfolding of a flower”
>99% girls
Manulani
“resembling a bird in the heavens”
14% boys · 86% girls
Kapua
“the” · “flower; child”
24% boys · 76% girls
Pua
“resembling a flower”
25% boys · 75% girls
Adoette
“of the large tree”
>99% girls
Kalehua
“the” · “lehua flower; expert”
>99% girls
Hōkūlani
“star” · “sky”
>99% girls