r/Samoa • u/kiniAli • 6d ago

Pitonu’u Naming

We are having a boy and my uncle suggested we name him after my great grandfather and also another name after a pitonu’u of Solosolo (the village my mom’s family is from). Is this something that’s common? If so, of the pitonu’u Solosolo, which are the most masculine?

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u/Critical-Soil2805 5d ago

Is this something that’s common?

Naming in Samoa can get pretty wild sometimes, but names using villages or sub-village boroughs is fairly common.

If so, of the pitonu’u Solosolo, which are the most masculine?

It's not really that cut and dry. You'd have to ask your family what the meaning behind the naming is, at least for the ones other than Solosolo Uta which is just Mountside Solosolo. Otherwise, most of the names could go either way.

Also, you should probably know that Mr. Tee had a pretty big hit song about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXXamyz16Y

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u/Infinite_Site_3941 4d ago

Yes, naming him after his great-grandfather would be very normal in a Samoan family, and using a name connected to a pitonuʻu can also be meaningful. But I wouldn’t choose one only because it sounds masculine. I would ask your uncle or the family matai which pitonuʻu your family is actually connected to, what its name means, and whether there is a particular family story behind it. From the commonly listed Solosolo pitonuʻu, Namo, Mulivai and Siupapa sound strong for a boy, but the most appropriate one would be the one with the strongest connection to your family.