Baby Name: Louise

Hawaiian couple Raymond and Anna Judd had at least 8 children during the 1920s and 1930s.

On the 1940 U.S. Census, their children are listed as Raymond Jr., Louise, James, Maxwell, Lydia, Lehua, Reginald, and Nayland.

But their full names were really…

• Raymond Murray Laniolaikapikoihiihilauakea (b. 1922)
• Louise Julia Kalaninuiahilepalepa (b. 1923)
• James Haulukaokeahienaena (b. 1924)
• Maxwell Winfred Kuuleimamoulukapaehuokalani (b. 1927)
• Lydia Anna Haleakala (b. 1928)
• Marvelle Pauline Kaualililehua “Lehua” (b. 1930)
• Reginald Wilhelm Kananinoheaokuuhomeopuukaimanaalohilohinokeaweaweulamakaokalani (b. 1936)
• Nayland Clayton Kaleinaonalani (b. 1938)

At least two of these names ended up making the news.

The one that popped up in papers worldwide was Reginald’s Hawaiian name, which had 63 letters and was said to mean “the beautiful aroma of my home at sparkling diamond hill is carried to the eyes of heaven.” I don’t know how accurate this definition is, but I could find some of the corresponding Hawaiian words — like pu’u (meaning “hill”), kaimana (“diamond”), ‘alohilohi (“sparkling”), and maka (“eyes”) — in the name.

A decade earlier, Maxwell’s Hawaiian name was also in the news — at least locally.

I couldn’t find a translation of Maxwell’s Hawaiian name, or translations for any of the other Hawaiian names. (In fact, I’m not even 100% sure about the spellings of those names.) Regardless, here are some observations…

• Raymond’s Hawaiian name, Laniolaikapikoihiihilauakea, seems to refer to the ‘ihi’ihilauakea — a fern endemic to Hawaii.
• James’s Hawaiian name, Haulukaokeahienaena, seems to refer to a raging fire: ke (“the”), ahi (“fire”), ‘ena’ena (“glowing, red-hot, raging”).
• Lydia’s Hawaiian name, Haleakala, was the middle name of her grandmother (Louise Haleakala, b. 1879) and the first name of her great-grandmother (Haleaka, b. 1847). The word means “house of the sun” and refers to the volcano on Maui.
• Marvelle’s nickname, Lehua, from her Hawaiian name Kaualililehua, refers to the Lehua plant.

What are your thoughts on these names?

Sources:

• “Boy Gets Name With Sixty-Three Letters.” Saline Observer 24 Sept. 1936: 6.
• A Genealogy of the Judd Family in Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society, 1922.
• “Kuuleimamoulukapaehuokalani.” Honolulu Advertiser 12 Jan. 1927: 3.
• “Miscellany.” Time 31 Aug. 1936.
• Raymond Murry Judd – Find a Grave
• “A Tongue Twister.” Daily Examiner [Grafton, NSW] 12 Oct. 1936: 4.
• Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian Language Dictionaries