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Koa

KOE-uh
Hawaiian
"warrior; flowing tree native to Hawaii"
Clare Green
By Clare Green
Updated Fri Sep 27 2024

Koa Origin and Meaning

The name Koa is a boy's name meaning "warrior; flowing tree native to Hawaii".

The international popularity of Noah has led to some parents searching for alternatives and the rhyming Koa is now attracting more attention than ever. With it's cool K initial and summery, nature-inspired feel, this punchy three letter name has risen more than 600 places since it entered the US charts in 2017.

A Hawaiian name with a fierce meaning, Koa is also a type of tree native to the islands whose wood is favored for building canoes and surfboards. Considered sacred to some, the tree was also used historically to make weapons, making it synonymous with strength and warriors.

Given to around 1100 boys in the US in 2023, Koa is also in the Top 500 in the UK, and in the Top 100 in Australia, where it is also associated with the Aboriginal Koa people, whose name possibly comes from a word meaning "west".

Striking the balance between gentle nature name and bold adventurer, Koa was chosen by guitarist Tom Dumont of the band No Doubt, a brother for Ace and Rio, and a name that fits right in with all of the band's stylishly named offspring, Mason, Magnolia, Ruby, Kingston, Zuma, Apollo, Coco, and Saffron. The YouTubers, Family Fizz, also have a son named Koa, who joins sisters Mia, Sienna, and Karma.

# 298 in the US

Koa Rank in US Top 1000

# 106 on Nameberry

Koa Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Koa Popularity

Famous People Named Koa

  • Koa Egan (b.2011)
    son of Westlife singer Kian Egan
  • Koa Thomas Dumont (b.2011)
    son of No Doubt guitarist Thomas Dumont

Koa in Pop Culture

  • Koa
    mentioned in Ezekial 23:23; according to James Strong, "a region of Babylon"
  • Koa wood
    from Hawaii