Honolulu

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.

Honolulu
State capital city
City and County of Honolulu
Clockwise from top: downtown; Pearl Harbor; statue of King Kamehameha I in front of Aliʻiolani Hale downtown; Diamond Head; waterfront on Waikīkī Beach; and ʻIolani Palace
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Crossroads of the Pacific, Sheltered Bay, HNL, The Big Pineapple, Paradise
Motto:  Haʻaheo No ʻO Honolulu (The Pride of Honolulu)[1]
Urban Honolulu and East Honolulu CDPs (combined) in Honolulu County and the state of Hawaii
Interactive map of Honolulu
Coordinates: 21°18′25″N 157°51′30″W
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
County	Honolulu
Incorporated	April 30, 1907; 118 years ago (1907-04-30)[2]
Area [3]
• City	68.4 sq mi (177.2 km2)
• Land	60.5 sq mi (156.7 km2)
• Water	7.9 sq mi (20.5 km2)
• Urban	145.0 sq mi (375.5 km2)
Elevation [4]	16 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)[5]
• City	350,964 (US: 56th)
• Density	5,791/sq mi (2,236.1/km2)
• Urban	853,252 (US: 54th)
• Urban density	5,885/sq mi (2,272.4/km2)
• Metro	1,016,508[6] (US: 54th)
Demonym	Honolulan
Time zone	UTC−10:00 (Hawaiian (HST))
ZIP Codes	96801–96850
Area code	808
FIPS code	15-17000
GNIS feature ID	366212[7]
Website	www.honolulu.gov

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

• Bruno Mars, singer, was born in Honolulu
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, was born in Honolulu
• Nicole Scherzinger, singer, was born in Honolulu
• Jason Momoa, actor currently lives in Honolulu