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.
Captain Cook gave them the name of the Sandwich Islands.
Samoa
No, the Cook Islands are south of Hawaii,
Captain James Cook initially named the Hawaiian Island the Sandwich Islands after the Earl of Sandwich. John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, at the time the First Lord of the Admiralty and Cook's superior officer, was one of Cook's major sponsors.
The islands of Hawaii are in the North Pacific Ocean.