Nainoa
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- nye-NOH-ah
- Origin
- Hawaiian
- US rank, 2025
- #4,538 for boys
Nainoa is a boys' name of Hawaiian origin. In 2025 it ranked 4,538th for boys in the US (22 babies).
What does Nainoa mean?
Hawaiian
Borne by Nainoa Thompson, the navigator who revived traditional Polynesian wayfinding aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule'a.
Is Nainoa a girl's or a boy's name?
Nainoa is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 22 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nainoa in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,538among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 22about 1 in 78,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 45% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 22 boys in the US were named Nainoa, making it the 4,538th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,029th. Its busiest year was 2002, with 33 boys. It first appears in the records in 1985.
Half of all the boys named Nainoa in the US since 1880 were born between 2000 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nainoa in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | #4,538 |
| 2024 | 24 | #4,318 |
| 2023 | 12 | #6,892 |
| 2022 | 9 | #8,293 |
| 2021 | 13 | #6,330 |
| 2020 | 11 | #7,029 |
| 2019 | 20 | #4,802 |
| 2018 | 9 | #8,150 |
| 2017 | 14 | #6,056 |
| 2016 | 20 | #4,775 |
| 2015 | 14 | #5,995 |
| 2014 | 16 | #5,481 |
| 2013 | 15 | #5,655 |
| 2012 | 10 | #7,553 |
| 2011 | 23 | #4,219 |
| 2010 | 28 | #3,707 |
| 2009 | 20 | #4,746 |
| 2008 | 27 | #3,820 |
| 2007 | 14 | #5,898 |
| 2006 | 23 | #4,101 |
| 2005 | 31 | #3,237 |
| 2004 | 16 | #5,002 |
| 2003 | 16 | #4,810 |
| 2002 | 33 | #2,813 |
| 2001 | 23 | #3,612 |
| 2000 | 28 | #3,069 |
| 1999 | 20 | #3,699 |
| 1998 | 20 | #3,593 |
| 1997 | 12 | #4,954 |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,785 |
| 1994 | 16 | #3,905 |
| 1993 | 11 | #4,995 |
| 1992 | 9 | #5,652 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 5 | #8,108 |
| 1989 | 6 | #6,934 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 8 | #4,962 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 5 | #6,517 |
Names like Nainoa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kainoa Koa Makoa Nakoa Kaleo Kai Keanu Kekoa Makai Nikolai Lakai Keoni
Names related to Nainoa
More Hawaiian names
Leilani Kailani Kalani Nalani Koah Meilani Kailany Leilany Laylani Lani Luana Leylani Lailani Alakai Kaelani Noelani
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nainoa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nainoa, updated 20 October 2026.