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[Test] Hawaiian, Māori, and other Polynesian name definitions/corrections
Hi! I noticed that some names in the Polynesian section lack definitions and some are incorrect. How can that be corrected?For instance
- Ahorangi means "shining sky" in Māori from aho "light" and rangi "sky"
- Apirana is the Māori translation of Abidan from the Māori bible.
- Ariki means chief, it's also a Cook Island name.
- Atawhai means kindness.Corrections
- Saia is not a Māori name, there is no s in Māori
- Ma'ata is the Hawaiian spelling not Māori.
- Hawaiian name Hū'eu is written with a macron not a circumflex.
- Terangimaria should be Te Rangimārie, it means "the peace". Terangimaria is not the original spelling.
- Te Koha has a different name as other form. Tekoa/Te Koa doesn't have the same meaning as Te Koha. Te Koa means "the happy one" while Te Koha means "the gift".I saw that better_nit_bitter changed some names starting with Te- attached to the name, to "Te" not attached. Instead of Tekaha to Te Kaha, that's good but there are still some that haven't been changed. Terangimarie, Tewakepare, and Tekoha.Although there are some people that do write their name with Te- attached to their name. See Teānau, Teariki, Temuera and Temāia.And other names that need definitions/correcting.Also when I wanted to add a Māori name with a space but it says spaces aren't allowed.Thank you!

Replies

Hi there! Thank you for providing these definitions and corrections.
Being the editor who edited several Māori names (Te Ao, Te Arani, Te Kaha, Te Kāhu, Te Māia, Te Ori), can I personally ask you to check these names if the meanings and pronunciations are correct?Kia ora!

This message was edited 2/3/2025, 5:37 AM

Hi. My apologies, I didn't know you replied. Thank you for correcting the names.Te Ao, Te Kāhu, and Te Ori pronunciations are correct. Te Ori means "the bad weather" from ori meaning "storm, bad weather". I would say Te Arani, Te Kaha, Te Māia, are pronounced teh-AH-ra-nee (Te Arani), teh-KA-hah (Te Kaha), and teh-MAH-ee-ah (Te Māia), but it depends on how you read the pronunciations. It's not an uh like ooh but an ah like 'mama'. I think ɐ is the correct IPA sound but I'm not familiar with IPA.Te Kaha has Kia kaha as alternative but the meanings are slightly different kia kaha means 'stay strong' not 'the strong' like Te Kaha.Ngā mihi!
Hi! I made changes to the names you listed. Let me know if I made any errors. See Mike C's post about adding names with spaces here: https://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/5564025