Every country or every culture has its own naming procedure. Each has their own unique reasoning to the names the give to their people. It is really amazing how names differ across various cultures and how diverse the naming system is across the world. One of the most interesting and unique naming systems are found in TONGA, or well known as the kingdom of Tonga. They have these really catchy small names that they come up with for their children. All these names make a lot of sense, only when you get to know the real meaning behind these names.
The Reasoning behind Tongan Names
The kingdom of Tonga is not one of those well updated hi-tech kingdoms; it is just a small sovereign comprising of numerous islands say around 170 of them. They are bordering the fellow islands like Fiji, Samoa etc. they have a really high integrity and dignity of their own, that they never lost their sovereignty in any sort of way. Their decorum is well maintained.
The word Tonga itself means “south” due to their geographical location probably. So every Tongan name has a meaning and proper reasoning behind it.All the names are basically in Tongan which is a Polynesian language, which is pretty similar to the Hawaii language.
Majority of the population of Tonga are Catholics and Mormons, which makes it evident that these religions also play a major role in the naming that has been happening over the years.
The Tongan Names
Here is a list of Tongan names along with their respective meanings. All of them having their origin from Tongan:
1. Afah – hurricane
2. Ahu- smoke
3. Alieha, Aleah, alia – patient
4. Amanaki,Amanakee,Amanakey – hope
5. Amelika- freedom
6. Anga, Angah- shark
7. Angelo- god’s child
8. Atamai,Atama,Atamaey- the all-rounder, multi-talented
9. Avanga, Avangah- bewitched
10. Avocaa,Avocai, Avoca- the silent valley
11. cinnamoni- the native spice.
12. Emeney, emeni- amen
13. Eponee,Epony,Eponi- the colour of dark black
14. Falah, falaiah- someone who can be trusted
15. fokisi- the animal fox. Given to someone with a cunning nature.
16. isileli- the power of strength. For someone who is built and strong.
17. Kahoa, kahoah- the sparkling face, for someone with a bright face.
18. kakaeah- name given for a really tall person.
19. Kalauni – the crown, usually name given for the princess
20. kakah- someone who can climb fast to success
Thus as you can see, all the above are beautiful names having their origins from Tongan. Each name has a specific reasoning and meaning to it. Every name has its unique feel to it. The Tongan culture has a lot of the tribal feel stuck with it. It is amazing that how every small culture has its own subtle naming system which clings on to the cultural diversity. Tongan names are considered to be one of the catchiest names, and have their naming systems spread to the neighboring islands like Fiji, Samoa etc. The way the Tongans preserve their culture is something that needs to be appreciated. Next time you wonder what to name your child, it better be a catchy Tongan name!
