Every Hawaiʻi trip ends the same way: someone comes home with a ukulele. It's the most recognizable sound of the Islands, strummed on lanais and airport concourses alike. But the instrument didn't originate in Hawaiʻi at all, and the name itself carries a story most visitors never hear.
The short answer
The ukulele descends from a small Portuguese instrument called the machete, brought to Hawaiʻi by Madeiran immigrants in 1879. Hawaiians reshaped its sound, its playing style, and its meaning until it became a genuinely Hawaiian instrument — its name likely means "jumping flea," describing the quick motion of fingers across the strings.
Where did the ukulele actually come from?
In August 1879, the ship Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu Harbor carrying Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, recruited to work Hawaiʻi's sugar plantations. Among them were several cabinetmakers who also happened to be musicians, including Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and José do Espírito Santo. They brought with them small four-string instruments from home — the machete (also called the braguinha) — and, as the story goes, began playing on the dock almost as soon as they landed.
Hawaiians were captivated by the instrument's bright, portable sound. Within a few years, Nunes, Dias, and Espírito Santo had opened workshops in Honolulu building a Hawaiian-adapted version of the machete, swapping in local woods and retuning the strings into what became the standard ukulele tuning. What started as a souvenir of Madeira became something new: an instrument shaped by Hawaiian hands, Hawaiian wood, and Hawaiian music.
What does the word ukulele actually mean?
The most widely repeated translation is "jumping flea," a nod to the quick, hopping movement of a player's fingers on the fretboard. Another account credits British army officer Edward Purvis, a fixture at the royal court known for his own quick fingers and small stature, as the inspiration for the name. A separate tradition ties the word to uku (gift) and lele (to come), read as "the gift that came here" — a phrase said to have been used by Queen Liliʻuokalani. Language historians can't fully settle which story came first, but all three point to the same thing: Hawaiians gave this borrowed instrument a Hawaiian name, and in doing so, made it their own.
How did the ukulele become a symbol of Hawaiʻi?
The instrument's rise was fast and deliberate. Hawaiian royalty embraced it early — King Kalākaua, an enthusiastic patron of Hawaiian music and hula, featured the ukulele in performances at ʻIolani Palace and helped legitimize it as a serious instrument rather than a novelty. By the early 1900s, touring Hawaiian musicians were introducing the ukulele to audiences across the U.S. mainland, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco set off a nationwide ukulele craze that lasted well into the 1920s.
That mainland fad eventually faded, but in Hawaiʻi the ukulele never went anywhere. It became a fixture of kanikapila — informal, come-as-you-are jam sessions — and a standard accompaniment to hula and Hawaiian slack-key guitar. Today it's taught in island public schools, played at backyard gatherings, and treated less as a "cute" instrument than as a working piece of daily musical life.
A ukulele made from Hawaiian koa doesn't just sound different — it carries the story of the tree, the maker, and the island it came from.
What makes a ukulele "Hawaiian made," versus just Hawaiian-branded?
This is where a lot of buyers get misled. A ukulele can carry a Hawaiian shop's name on the label while being manufactured overseas from imported plywood, then simply finished or sold in Hawaiʻi. A genuinely Hawaiian-made instrument is different on nearly every level: it's built by hand in a Hawaiʻi workshop, typically from koa, a hardwood native to the islands, or occasionally other local woods like mango, milo, or ʻōhiʻa. Koa is prized for its warm tone and its striking curly grain, but it's also a limited, slow-growing resource, which is part of why an authentic solid-koa ukulele from an established Hawaiʻi builder can run several hundred dollars or more.
The most reliable way to know what you're getting is to ask directly: was the ukulele built in Hawaiʻi, and from what wood? Reputable Hawaiʻi builders will answer specifically rather than vaguely. If a "Hawaiian ukulele" costs the same as a mainland department-store model, it almost certainly isn't one.
Why does koa wood matter so much to the sound?
Koa is denser and stiffer than many woods used for cheaper ukuleles, and that density shapes the tone: warmer, rounder, with a longer sustain than the brighter, thinner sound of laminate or plywood builds. But koa's importance in Hawaiʻi goes beyond acoustics. The tree was historically used for canoes, weapons, and surfboards, and it's still regarded as one of the islands' most culturally significant native hardwoods — a material with its own long history in Hawaiian craft. Building an instrument from koa links the ukulele to that older tradition of working with what the land provides, rather than importing materials wholesale.
Is it "ukulele" or "ukelele"?
Both spellings circulate, but "ukulele" is the standard Hawaiian-language spelling and the one used by Hawaiʻi's ukulele makers, museums, and cultural institutions. "Ukelele" is a common English misspelling that stuck around in older mainland print, but if you're writing to or about Hawaiʻi, "ukulele" is the correct and respectful form.
What should you look for in an authentic Hawaiian ukulele gift?
If you're buying one as a gift rather than as a serious instrument, a few things separate a meaningful piece from a mass-produced souvenir: wood that's identified specifically (koa, mango, or another named tonewood, not just "wood"), a maker or shop name you can look up, and a price that reflects real handwork rather than a plastic import. A cheap plastic ukulele bought at an airport gift shop isn't wrong to enjoy, but it isn't the same object, and it doesn't carry the same story, as one built by hand in a Hawaiʻi workshop.
Keep reading from the journal
- Koa Wood: Why Hawaiʻi's Native Hardwood Is So Treasured
- The history of hula: sacred rite to performance art
- Authentic Hawaiian Gifts: How to Choose Meaningful, Locally-Made Pieces (Not Touristy Souvenirs)
- Aloha Friday and the rise of the Hawaiian aloha shirt
- Common Hawaiian words you already know, and what they mean
Did the ukulele originate in Hawaiʻi?
No. It descends from the Portuguese machete (braguinha), brought to Hawaiʻi by Madeiran immigrants in 1879. Hawaiians adapted its construction, tuning, and playing style until it became a distinctly Hawaiian instrument.
What does "ukulele" mean in Hawaiian?
The most common translation is "jumping flea," describing the quick finger movement of a player. Other accounts link the name to a nimble British officer nicknamed for his quick fingers, or to the phrase "the gift that came here." No single origin story is definitively confirmed.
What wood is used in a real Hawaiian ukulele?
Koa is the classic choice, prized for its warm tone and native Hawaiian origin. Some builders also use mango, milo, or ʻōhiʻa. Cheaper mass-produced ukuleles typically use plywood or laminate instead.
How can I tell if a ukulele is really made in Hawaiʻi?
Ask the seller directly where it was built and from what wood. Genuine Hawaiʻi builders can answer specifically. A "Hawaiian" ukulele priced like a mainland souvenir, with no maker or wood identified, usually isn't handmade in the islands.
Is "ukulele" or "ukelele" the correct spelling?
"Ukulele" is the correct Hawaiian-language spelling and the one used throughout Hawaiʻi. "Ukelele" is a persistent English misspelling.