Punawai as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Punawai

What is the meaning of the name Punawai ?

The baby name Punawai is a Unisex name and is pronounced /puːˈnaːwaɪ/ — poo-NAH-wai (wai pronounced like 'why').

Punawai is Hawaiian in Origin.

Punawai is a Hawaiian given name formed from puna “spring, well, source” and wai “water,” yielding the meaning “freshwater spring” or “fountain.” In Hawaiian thought, wai symbolizes life and prosperity (compare waiwai, “wealth”), so the name also carries the figurative sense of “source of life” or “well of abundance.” The standard Hawaiian orthography writes it Pūnāwai.

The name appears in Hawaiian chants, place names, and 19th‑century newspapers, and today is used as a unisex given name and occasionally a surname. Variants include the diacritic form Pūnāwai and, by spacing, Puna Wai; across Polynesia, cognates include Tahitian Punavai and Māori puna wai (two words), reflecting the shared roots puna + wai/vai. Related Hawaiian names invoking water and springs are Kawai (“the water”), Wai, and Punahou (“new spring”). Punawai suits families seeking a nature‑centered name with deep cultural resonance.

⚙ We can't find Punawai in any of the birth registries or name datasets we track. It's the kind of name that tends to be rare, regional, or newly made up. Whichever it is, scarcely anyone else carries it.