Tongan Name Games

Besides the traditional Tongan names – Tupou or Salote (traditional royal family names) – there are more... unique... names also. Here’s a list of names I’ve encountered. Guess which names are male and female.

1. Hina (Bottle/Spider)
2. Vai (Water)
3. Lua (Vomit)
4. Puke (Sick/To Hold)
5. Mahina (Month/Moon)
6. ‘Aho Lelei (Good Day)
7. Po’uli (Night)
8. Uike Lotu (Holy Week)
9. Eva (Wandering)
10. Tasi (Chalkboard Eraser)
11. Ika (Fish)

Female: odds

Male: evens

Except 11, which is both.

In case you forgot, my Tongan name, Pele, means not only “Darling,” but also “Playing Cards” and a kind of leaf here.


There are also a number of Western names, Tongan-ified. Here are some of them:

Julie – Suli
Rebecca – Lepeka
Sarah – Sela
Marie – Malia/Mele

William – Viliami
George – Siaosi
John – Sione
Fred – Feleti