Help with Hawaiian Boat Name Please

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Aloha all you Hawaiians out there!

I would like some assistance with naming our new boat. My newlywed wife and I have a special bond with Hawaii because that is where I proposed to her just over a year ago now. We just got married last month and as our wedding gift to eachother, we are getting a new boat!

Her nickname on some of the other boards is Killer Mermaid because of her love of spearfishing. We'd like to incorporate that into the name of the boat, but I don't think there is a direct translation.

Here's what we've come up with so far that we really like:
Makaha Mermaid
Maka Koa Mermaid

We plucked these from some translation sites, but aren't sure if they actually make any sense. Makaha is ferocious and Maka Koa is bold, strong I think. Are these acurate translations, or are we way off base here? I'd hate to pick a name, and then have it just not make any sense in Hawaiian.

Mahalo!

 

[DennisS]

I couldn't help flashing back to the hilarious scene with Meredith Baxter in Grumpier old men and his hawaiin

Comeoniwannalaya, Uwannalikidiki, and Idkindaliketapokeya.........

Great wedding present to each other

 

[Shaka Doug]

I couldn't help flashing back to the hilarious scene with Meredith Baxter in Grumpier old men and his hawaiin

Comeoniwannalaya, Uwannalikidiki, and Idkindaliketapokeya.........

Great wedding present to each other

Hilarious!!!

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Ha! I like "Idkindaliketopokeya"!

 

[Diver Tim]

From my "New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary":

Mākaha: fierce, savage, ferocious.

Maka koa : bold, unafraid, fierce.

I'd probably go with maka koa if it were up to me... Plus, Makaha is the name of a town in west O'ahu, very "local" area. If you use "Mākaha Mermaid," you may get people asking if you're from there, etc.

Aloha,

Tim

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

In Hawaii, naming a canoe or boat is often given a great deal of thought, much like naming a child (or maybe even more thought than that).... I remember once being told that you should not use names that are typically used for naming land features, because the canoe / boat would then want to run towards land (run aground on a reef)....

But most often, boats here in Hawaii are named like they are anywhere else: The wife's name is always a good one, since you had to beg for permission and go deep in debt to buy the boat

I chose "Mahina" for the name of my boat.... actually I chose that name while in Tonga after drinking kava with my hosts on an amazing moonlit night in the 1981.... Mahina shares the same meaning in Tongan and Hawaiian (moon), and is also a Hawaiian lunar diety.

Anyway, get a good Hawaiian dictionary, pick a name that means something to you, and you are on your way to having a properly-named boat.

Best wishes.

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

I just learned there is a big difference between Mākaha and Makaha; the latter is a pig disease. :buggy: Not quite what I'm shooting for!

 

[drbill]

Congratulations on the marriage and your gift to one another. From what little I know about Hawaii and its unique language, just make sure your boat has sufficient beam in the stern to allow for all the letters!