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''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The name was originally used by
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
in reference to only the
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me
Te Waipounamu The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman S ...
'' ("North Island and South Island"). In the pre-European era, Māori did not have one name for the country as a whole. Several meanings for Aotearoa have been proposed for the name; the most popular translation usually given is "land of the long white cloud", or variations thereof. This refers to the cloud formations which helped early Polynesian navigators find the country. Beginning in the late 20th century, ''Aotearoa'' has become widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations and institutions. Since the 1990s, it has been customary for particular parties to sing the New Zealand national anthem, "
God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...
" (or "Aotearoa"), in both Māori and English, exposing the name to a wider audience.
New Zealand English New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
speakers pronounce the word with various degrees of approximation to the original Māori pronunciation, from at one end of the spectrum (nativist) to at the other. Pronunciations documented in dictionaries of English include , , and .


Origin

The original meaning of is not known. The word can be broken up as: ('cloud', 'dawn', 'daytime' or 'world'), ('white', 'clear' or 'bright') and ('long'). It can also be broken up as , the name of one of the migratory canoes that travelled to New Zealand, and ('long'). One literal translation is 'long white cloud', commonly lengthened to 'the land of the long white cloud'. Alternative translations are 'long bright world' or 'land of abiding day', possibly referring to New Zealand having longer summer days in comparison to those further north in the Pacific Ocean. The first Māori dictionary, published in 1844, had no entry for Aotearoa. The earliest reference in New Zealand's newspapers was in 1855 in the Māori-language newspaper ''Māori Messenger'', which mentions Aotearoa which it equated to "Nui Tireni". By the 1870s "Aotearoa" became synonymous for the region widely known as the
King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...
. One
King Movement King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
flag also has the words Niu Tireni on it. By the 1860s there are examples of the use of the phrase "the island of Aotearoa" meaning the North Island. This usage continued throughout the century. The setting up of King Tawhio's Great Council, or
Kauhanganui The Whakakitenga, formerly known as the Kauhanganui, is a Māori parliament established by King Tāwhiao of the Kīngitanga in 1889 or 1890. Members of Te Whakakitenga are elected for three year terms, with each marae electing two members. B ...
, in 1892 comprised, it claimed, "the Kingdom of Aotearoa and the Waiponamu", meaning both the North and South Islands. It is likely that King Movement political aspirations may lie behind the claimed increasing geographic size of the region purported to be Aotearoa. While many Māori throughout New Zealand may have been in support of the King Movement's general aims, most were far too independent to kowtow to its
mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
. At least one acerbic commentator noted
Tāwhiao Tāwhiao (Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894) was leader of the Waikato tribes, the second Māori King, and a religious figure. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta (Hapū) of Waikato. Biography T ...
's nation-wide "constitution" for "the Maori Kingdom of Aotearoa" amounted only to "practically what is termed the King country".
Thomas Bracken Thomas Bracken (c. December 1843 – 16 February 1898) was an Irish-born New Zealand poet, journalist and politician. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, and was the first person to publish the ph ...
's New Zealand anthem of 1878 was translated into Māori by T.H. Smith. New Zealand he called Aotearoa. This meaning was further entrenched with W.P. Reeves' 1898 history of New Zealand with the title ''Aotearoa: The Long White Cloud''. James Cowan's 1907 version is entitled ''New Zealand, or Ao-te-roa (The Long Bright World)''. Johannes Anderson, in the same year, published ''Māori Life in Aotea''. New Zealand in the later nineteenth century saw many non-Māori efforts to give it another name that best suited the perceived emerging national character, now that most of the non-Māori population had been born in the country – suggestions included Maoria, Maoriland, Zealandia, Aotearoa. The suggested Aotearoa, first popularised among
Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
by Bracken's translated anthem, and Reeves' history, drew similar sorts of conflicting responses to those still heard today. Some newspaper correspondents at the time thought Aotearoa was "euphonious and beautiful, and is not a change, but a reversion to the original Nu Tirene".


Mythology

In some traditional stories, ''Aotearoa'' was the name of the canoe () of the explorer
Kupe Kupe ( ~1180-1320) was a legendary Polynesian explorer, navigator and great rangatira of Hawaiki, who is said to have been the first human to discover New Zealand. Whether Kupe existed historically is likely but difficult to confirm. He is ge ...
, and he named the land after it. Kupe's wife Kuramārōtini (in some versions, his daughter) was watching the horizon and called ('a cloud! a cloud!'). Other versions say the canoe was guided by a long white cloud in the course of the day and by a long bright cloud at night. On arrival, the sign of land to Kupe's crew was the long cloud hanging over it. The cloud caught Kupe's attention and he said "Surely is a point of land". Due to the cloud which greeted them, Kupe named the land ''Aotearoa''.


Usage

It is not known when Māori began incorporating the name into their
oral lore Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985) ...
. Beginning in 1845,
George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...
,
Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and liv ...
, spent some years amassing information from Māori regarding their legends and histories. He translated it into English, and in 1855 published a book called ''Polynesian Mythology and Ancient Traditional History of the New Zealand Race''. In a reference to Māui, the
culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are imp ...
, Grey's translation from the Māori reads as follows:
Thus died this Maui we have spoken of; but before he died he had children, and sons were born to him; some of his descendants yet live in
Hawaiki In Polynesian mythology, (also rendered as in Cook Islands Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories. ...
, some in ''Aotearoa'' (or in these islands); the greater part of his descendants remained in Hawaiki, but a few of them came here to ''Aotearoa''.
The use of ''Aotearoa'' to refer to the whole country is a post-colonial custom. Before the period of contact with Europeans, Māori did not have a commonly-used name for the entire New Zealand archipelago. As late as the 1890s the name was used in reference to the North Island (''Te Ika-a-Māui'') only; an example of this usage appeared in the first issue of ''Huia Tangata Kotahi'', a Māori-language newspaper published on February 8, 1893. It contained the dedication on the front page, "''He perehi tenei mo nga iwi Maori, katoa, o Aotearoa, mete Waipounamu''", meaning "This is a publication for the Māori tribes of the North Island and the South Island". After the adoption of the name New Zealand (
anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
from ''Nova Zeelandia'') by Europeans, one name used by Māori to denote the country as a whole was ''Niu Tireni'', a
respelling A pronunciation respelling is a regular phonetic respelling of a word that has a standard spelling but whose pronunciation according to that spelling may be ambiguous, which is used to indicate the pronunciation of that word. Pronunciation respe ...
of New Zealand derived from an approximate pronunciation. The expanded meaning of ''Aotearoa'' among ''
Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
'' became commonplace in the late 19th century. ''Aotearoa'' was used for the name of New Zealand in the 1878 translation of "
God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...
", by Judge Thomas Henry Smith of the Native Land Court—this translation is widely used today when the anthem is sung in Māori. Additionally,
William Pember Reeves William Pember Reeves (10 February 1857 – 16 May 1932) was a New Zealand politician, cricketer, historian and poet who promoted social reform. Early life and career Reeves's parents were William Reeves, who was a journalist and politician ...
used ''Aotearoa'' to mean New Zealand in his history of the country published in 1898, ''The Long White Cloud Ao-tea-roa.'' Since the late 20th century ''Aotearoa'' is becoming widespread also in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. The New Zealand province of the
Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
is divided into three cultural streams or (Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia), with the ''Aotearoa'' tikanga covering Māori-speaking congregations within New Zealand. In 2015, to celebrate
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ( en, Māori Language Week) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to ...
(Māori Language Week), the
Black Caps The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth cou ...
(the New Zealand national cricket team) played under the name ''Aotearoa'' for their first match against Zimbabwe.


Music

* ''
Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...
'' is an overture composed in 1940 by
Douglas Lilburn Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer. Early life Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki Bo ...
. * ''The Land of the Long White Cloud'', subtitled ''Aotearoa'', is a piece composed in 1979 by
Philip Sparke Philip Allen Sparke (born 29 December 1951) is an English composer and musician born in London, noted for his concert band and brass band music. His early major works include ''The Land of the Long White Cloud – "Aotearoa"'', written for t ...
for brass band or
wind band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...
. * "Aotearoa" is the Māori version of "
God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...
", a national anthem of New Zealand. *
Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...
refers to Aotearoa in its 1982 song "
Six Months in a Leaky Boat "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" is a song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in May 1982 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Time and Tide''. The title is a reference to the time it took pioneers to ...
".


Petitions

A petition initiated by David Chester was presented to the parliament on 13 April 2018, requesting legislation to change the name of New Zealand to ''Aotearoa – New Zealand''. A further petition initiated by Danny Tahau Jobe for a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on whether the official name of New Zealand should change to include ''Aotearoa'', received 6,310 signatures. The petition was presented to
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
by the
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...
co-leader
Marama Davidson Marama Mere-Ana Davidson (née Paratene; born 1973) is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she is the female co-leader. In October 20 ...
on 1 May 2019. The petitions were considered together by Parliament's Governance and Administration Select Committee which responded that it acknowledged the significance of the name "Aotearoa" and that it is increasingly being used to refer to New Zealand. The committee also noted that there are references throughout legislation to both "Aotearoa" and "New Zealand" and that while not legislated, the use of bilingual titles throughout Parliament and government agencies is common. The final report stated, "at present we do not consider that a legal name change, or a referendum on the same change, is needed". In September 2021 the
Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
started a petition to change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa. The petition reached 50,000 signatures in two days. In September 2021,
Hobson's Pledge Hobson's Pledge is a right-winghttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/15126/02_whole.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y lobby group in New Zealand that was formed in late September 2016 to oppose equitable measures for Māori people. It is ...
, a lobby group that opposes specific rights for Māori (led by former leader of the
New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...
Don Brash Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) is a former New Zealand politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from October 2003 to November 2006, and the Leader of ACT New Zealand from April to No ...
), initiated a petition to eradicate "Aotearoa" from official use. Hobson's Pledge spokespersons Casey Costello and Don Brash called on Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...
to publicly affirm that the official name of the country is New Zealand, not Aotearoa New Zealand or Aotearoa. The petition also called on the prime minister to instruct all government departments to use the current official name only. Costello claimed that the name Aotearoa was not "culturally or historically recognised by Māori as the name of our country" while Brash claimed that the name New Zealand was an identity and brand that had been built over the past 180 years. The petition gained over 59,000 signatures by August 2022. In September 2021,
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...
, leader of the
New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...
Party launched a petition "Keep It New Zealand". Peters called Aotearoa a "name with no historical credibility". the petition gained over 21,000 signatures. By early June 2022, the Māori Party's petition to rename New Zealand "Aotearoa" had received over 70,000 signatures. On 2 June, the petition was submitted before Parliament's committee. Party co-leader
Rawiri Waititi Rawiri Wikuki Waititi (born ) is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader, Ringatū minister, and kapa haka exponent. He is a co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for since 20 ...
argued that the proposed name change would recognise New Zealand's indigenous heritage and strengthen its identity as a Pacific country. Waititi objected to the idea of a referendum, claiming it would entrench the "tyranny of the majority." National Party
Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who is currently serving as leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP ...
stated that renaming New Zealand was a constitutional issue that would require a referendum. Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson expressed concerns that a potential name change would create branding issues for the country's tourism industry.


Opinion polling

A
1 News ''1 News'' (stylised as ''1News'') is the news division of New Zealand television network TVNZ. The service is broadcast live from TVNZ Centre in Auckland. The flagship news bulletin is the nightly 6 pm news hour, but ''1 News'' also has ...
–Colmar Brunton poll in September 2021 found that 58% of respondents wanted to keep the name "New Zealand", 9% wanted to change the name to "Aotearoa", and 31% wanted the joint name of "Aotearoa New Zealand".


See also

*
List of New Zealand place name etymologies Placenames in New Zealand derive largely from British and Māori origins. An overview of naming practices can be found at New Zealand place names. A * Akaroa – Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", equivalent to Whangaroa * Albany (Māor ...
*
New Zealand place names Most New Zealand place names have a Māori or a British origin. Both groups used names to commemorate notable people, events, places from their homeland, and their ships, or to describe the surrounding area. It is unknown whether Māori had a nam ...


Explanatory notes


References


External links

* {{New Zealand topics Country name etymology Māori Māori words and phrases New Zealand culture