The Hilarious Origin of the State’s Name
We already discussed that Hawaii once had relations to the United Kingdom, which is why the Union Jack is included in the state’s flag. But let’s go on to discuss the origin of the wonderful state’s name. “Hawaii” comes from the Proto-Polynesian “Hawaiki”, which means “Spot of the Gods” or “Country”.
On January 18, 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to travel to the Hawaiian Islands. He named them “the Sandwich Islands” after John Montagu, also known as the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who invented the roast beef sandwich. This name stuck until the reign of King Kamehameha, who changed it to the “Kingdom of Hawaii”.