Kaihau as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Kaihau

What is the meaning of the name Kaihau ?

The baby name Kaihau is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkaɪ.haʊ/ (KYE-how).

Kaihau is in Origin.

Kaihau is a Māori name from Aotearoa New Zealand, built from kai “food; eater, doer” and hau “wind; vital breath”. Together it literally means “wind-eater,” an idiom for going without food or coming away empty‑handed; in poetic use it can also suggest endurance in lean times and a close relationship to the life-breath or the winds. The components are widespread across Polynesian languages, reinforcing the senses of sustenance (kai) and breeze/spirit (hau).

Usage has been uncommon as a given name but established as a surname, notably borne by Henare Kaihau (c.1852–1920), a Māori politician and land advocate. Contemporary Māori families sometimes adopt Kaihau as a unisex first name, with Kai as a familiar short form. Variant spacings such as Kai-hau or Kai Hau appear in older sources; the standard modern form is Kaihau. Related names include Hau, Kahau, and the pan‑Polynesian Kai.

⚙ Kaihau is an extremely rare name. Across our dataset of national birth registries and international name records, Kaihau appears only 1 time in total — found in 1 country. If you're considering it, you'd be giving your child a name almost nobody else has.