Honolulu

**Honolulu**  is the capital city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is also the largest city in Hawaii and it has the most important harbor. It is on the south-east shore of the island of Oahu.

## Etymology

Honolulu means "sheltered harbor" in the Hawaiian language. No one knows for sure when Honolulu was first settled or when the name was first used.

## History

Honolulu harbor was called Kulolia before foreigners came. The first foreigner was Captain William Brown of the English ship Butterworth, in 1794. He named the harbor Fair Haven. Other foreign captains started calling it Brown's Harbor. The name Honolulu was used some time after that.

Honolulu quickly became the most important harbor of Hawaii. At that time, sandalwood was a big export. Honolulu was also an important supply point for whalers.

Kamehameha III made Honolulu the capital city of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1850. It was also the capital of the Republic of Hawaii and the Territory of Hawaii. It stayed the capital when Hawaii became a state in 1959.

## Notable people

- Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, was born in Honolulu
- Bette Midler, actress and singer, was born in Honolulu
- Nicole Kidman, actress and singer, was born in Honolulu
- Nicole Scherzinger, singer, was born in Honolulu
- Jason Momoa, actor, was born in Honolulu, currently lives in Honolulu
- Bruno Mars, singer, was born in Honolulu

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Honolulu
- **official name**: City and County of Honolulu
- **nickname**: Crossroads of the Pacific, Sheltered Bay, HNL, The Big Pineapple, Paradise
- **settlement type**: List of capitals in the United States, State capital city
- **motto**: _Haaheo No O Honolulu_ (_The Pride of Honolulu_)
- **imagesize**: 280px
- **image caption**: **Clockwise from top**: Downtown Honolulu, downtown; Pearl Harbor; statue of King Kamehameha I in front of Aliiolani Hale downtown; Diamond Head, Hawaii, Diamond Head; waterfront on Waikīkī, Waikīkī Beach; and ʻIolani Palace
- **image flag**: Flag of Honolulu, Hawaii.svg
- **image seal**: Seal of Honolulu, Hawaii.svg
- **image map**: Honolulu County Hawaii Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Honolulu Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Urban Honolulu and East Honolulu CDPs (combined) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, Honolulu County and the state of Hawaii
- **map caption1**: Interactive map of Honolulu
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Hawaii
- **subdivision type2**: County (United States), County
- **subdivision name2**: Honolulu County, Hawaii, Honolulu
- **established title**: Municipal incorporation, Incorporated
- **total type**: City
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total km2**: 177.2
- **area land km2**: 156.7
- **area urban km2**: 375.5
- **area water km2**: 20.5
- **population as of**: 2020 United States Census, 2020
- **population total**: 350,964 (List of United States cities by population, US: 56th)
- **population urban**: 853,252 (List of United States urban areas, US: 54th)
- **population density urban km2**: 2,272.4
- **population density km2**: 2236.1
- **population metro**: 1016508 (Metropolitan statistical area, US: 54th)
- **population density metro km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Honolulan
- **timezone**: Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone, Hawaiian (HST)
- **utc offset**: −10:00
- **elevation m**: 5
- **elevation ft**: 16
- **postal code type**: ZIP Codes
- **postal code**: 96801–96850
- **area code**: Area code 808, 808
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standards, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 15-17000
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 366212