Why Is It Called the Big Island?
It’s one of the most-searched Big Island questions, and the answer is cheerfully simple: we call it the Big Island because it is. The island of Hawai‘i is larger than every other Hawaiian island combined, and calling it ‘the Big Island’ also avoids the confusion of having both the state and its largest island share the name Hawai‘i.
Here’s the fuller story, plus a few facts that make the nickname even more fitting than you’d think.
The short answer
‘Hawai‘i Island’ is the official name. ‘Big Island’ is the universally used nickname. Locals, businesses, government signage, airline maps and the U.S. Geological Survey all use it. It is bigger than O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Ni‘ihau and Kaho‘olawe put together — with room to spare.
The numbers behind the name
- 4,028 square miles — roughly twice the size of all other Hawaiian islands combined
- 266 miles of coastline
- About 200,000 residents
- From sea level to 13,803 feet (Mauna Kea) — one of the greatest vertical rises of any island on Earth
- Measured from its ocean-floor base, Mauna Kea is taller than Mount Everest
- Still growing — Kīlauea has added hundreds of acres of new land in recent decades
Why we don’t just call it ‘Hawai‘i’
Because ‘Hawai‘i’ is also the name of the whole state, which includes seven inhabited islands plus the Papahānaumokuākea marine monument. A sentence like ‘we’re flying to Hawai‘i’ could mean any of them. ‘We’re flying to the Big Island’ is unambiguous. The nickname evolved as a practical disambiguation, and it stuck.
How old is the nickname?
The name ‘Big Island’ started appearing in English-language writing about Hawai‘i in the mid-20th century and became the standard travel-industry shorthand by the 1970s. Today it’s so common that even the county government uses it in marketing: the tourism board brands itself as the ‘Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau.’
Still the youngest, still growing
The Big Island is the youngest in the Hawaiian chain at about 800,000 years old — an infant by geological standards. It was built, and continues to be built, by the Hawaiian hot spot: a plume of magma that the Pacific Plate has drifted northwest over for tens of millions of years. Kīlauea is currently over that hot spot. The next island in line, Kama‘ehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Lō‘ihi), is still underwater about 22 miles southeast of Hawai‘i island — it’ll surface in roughly 10,000–100,000 years, giving future Hawai‘i residents their newest island.
A respectful note
‘Big Island’ is casual and universal, but in cultural or official contexts — especially when talking with Native Hawaiians or writing about history — ‘Hawai‘i Island’ (with the ‘okina) is the appropriate form. Both are correct. Use whichever fits the moment.
Explore the Big Island with Ohana Tours
Whatever you call it, the best way to get a feel for just how big this island is in a short trip is to loop it in a day. Our Circle Island tour covers volcanoes, waterfalls, black sand beach and Kona coffee country in a single loop — and by the end, you’ll understand why the nickname fits.
Ready to plan your trip? Browse our Big Island experiences at ohanatours.com or reach out at aloha@ohanatours.com — we’ll build the itinerary around you.
Mahalo for reading — the Ohana Tours team