Ancient Hawaiian tradition says that it is named after the son of the Polynesian navigator Hawaiiloa which may or may not be true.
It was named the Sandwich Islands by Captain Cook.
In 1778, Captain James Cook gave the name "Sandwich islands" to what is now known as the Hawaiian islands, or Hawaii.
It is both : the "big island" is named Hawaii, and the entire chain is the state of Hawaii, or "the Hawaiian Islands".
Captain Cook named them the Sandwich Islands.
Captain Cook named them the Sandwich Islands.
Hawaii is said to have been named by the Maori people who named it "Hawaii" meaning "Heaven" in their own language. Legend states that Hawai'i Loa, a fisherman, was the first person to discover Hawaii (as told in ancient stories). He named Hawaii after himself and the rest of the islands on the chain after his children: Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai.
The Sandwich Islands later came to be known by their native name of Hawaii.
Alaska has the most islands of any U.S. state, with over 2,600 named islands.
Captain Cook gave them the name of the Sandwich Islands.
Samoa
No, the Cook Islands are south of Hawaii,
Captain James Cook, a British explorer, named the Sandwich Islands in 1778 after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was a sponsor of Cook's voyages. The islands are now known as Hawaii.