Meaning of the Name "Hawaii"

"Hawaii" derives from the Tahitian Havaiki, meaning "homeland" or "original place," which traces back to Proto-Polynesian *sawaiki ("east"). In Polynesian mythology, Havaiki lay to the east. Early Polynesian settlers applied the name to the island of Hawaiʻi, later extending it to the entire archipelago. It conveys a sense of divine origin or "Land of the Gods."