Used from the Hawaiian word for family, it is adopted in English as a name expressing kinship and belonging.
Ohana (ʻohana) is a Hawaiian word of profound cultural importance, meaning "family" in the broadest possible sense — not just the nuclear family, but the extended family, the chosen community, the network of mutual care and belonging. It derives from the word "oha," referring to the offshoots of the taro plant, which in Hawaiian cosmology is considered the ancestor of the Hawaiian people. Just as taro sends out shoots that sustain the plant and feed the community, ohana describes a living, growing network of connection.
In traditional Hawaiian culture, the concept of ʻohana underpins social organization, land stewardship, and the care of elders and children alike. The word entered global popular consciousness through Disney's 2002 animated film "Lilo & Stitch," in which the character Lilo explains: "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." That simple formulation, delivered by a lonely Hawaiian girl to a small blue alien, became one of the most quoted lines in Disney history and introduced the concept of ʻohana to hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
The film's loving portrayal of Hawaiian culture — its music, landscapes, and values — helped ohana become not just a word but a philosophy. As a given name, Ohana is rare but growing, chosen by parents who want to embed a value directly into a name. It is particularly popular among families with Hawaiian heritage or deep ties to Pacific Islander communities, but its warm universality has made it appealing to families of all backgrounds. To name a child Ohana is to make a promise: that this child will always belong, always be held, always come home.