Maui as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Maui

What is the meaning of the name Maui ?

The baby name Maui is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced MOW-ee (IPA: /ˈmaʊ.i/; Hawaiian spelling: Māui).

Maui is Hawaiian, Polynesian in Origin.

Maui is a Polynesian name found in Māori, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan, best known for the pan-Polynesian culture hero Māui, the deft trickster who snared the sun, lifted the sky, and fished up islands. Its etymology is debated: some linguists connect it to Proto-Polynesian mau “to grasp, hold, persist,” while in Māori mauī can mean “left(-handed),” an epithet sometimes applied to the hero. The name thus carries connotations of clever strength and transformative skill.

Attested in oral tradition and among navigators, the name also gave the Hawaiian island Maui its appellation. Used primarily for boys but increasingly unisex in modern contexts, it appears among Māori, Native Hawaiian, and wider Pacific families, and has gained broader visibility in the 21st century through popular culture. Variants and forms include Māui (with macron), Maui-tikitiki and Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga (Māori), and cognates across Tahitian and Samoan storytelling.