Kapena as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Kapena

What is the meaning of the name Kapena ?

The baby name Kapena is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced kah-PEH-nah (IPA: /kaˈpɛna/).

Kapena is Hawaiian in Origin.

Kapena is a Hawaiian given name from kāpena, the Hawaiian word for “captain,” a 19th‑century borrowing of English captain (via French capitaine and ultimately Latin capitaneus, “chief”). In Hawaiian sources it first appears as a title - famously in Kāpena Kuke for Captain Cook - before entering personal use, fitting the local practice of adopting honorifics and descriptive terms as names.

Usage today is centered in Hawai‘i and among the diaspora; the name reads modern yet rooted, with nautical and leadership overtones. It skews masculine but, like many Hawaiian names, can be unisex. The preferred orthography with diacritic is Kāpena; Anglicized Kapena is widespread. Variants are scarce, though Kap serves as a nickname. Cognate titles in Polynesia include Samoan Kapeteni and Tongan Kapiteni, typically not used as given names.