21.3043° N, 157.8564° W

HONOLULU

Most Famous People Born in Honolulu, United States

Notable people
910
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1956
Most distinctive
Surfer 50.2×

Honolulu's roster is an economy of the body. The Surfer count runs at better than fifty times the global baseline — essentially Duke Kahanamoku inventing modern surfing at Waikiki and the postwar longboard generations that followed him — while a Martial Art bench more than twenty times the norm grew out of the Kajukenbo gyms and judo dojos that fed Hawaii's action-cinema pipeline. Underneath sit Wrestler and Swimmer cohorts running back through the plantation-era Baseball leagues that sent players to the majors from the 1950s on.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Honolulu during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 114 notable births.

What Honolulu Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Honolulu's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (113).

Honolulu over-indexes on surfer50.2× the global rate.

Honolulu under-produces writer — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Actor113
  2. Football99
  3. Politician79
  4. Player35
  5. Baseball33
  6. Singer27
  7. Music24
  8. Lawyer24
  1. Surfer1250.2×
  2. Martial Art2021.5×
  3. Wrestler227.5×
  4. Swimmer214.8×
  5. Model93.8×
  6. Baseball333.2×
  7. Actor1132.3×
  8. Player352.0×
  1. Writer120.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Honolulu's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All910
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Showing 26 of 910 notable people

0064 POLITICIAN

Hiram Fong

1906 - 2004

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0129 ACTOR

Sol Hoʻopiʻi

1902 - 1953

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0137 SWIMMER

Samuel Kahanamoku

1902 - 1966

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0152 SWIMMER

Warren Kealoha

1903 - 1972

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0177 BANJOIST

Bill Tapia

1908 - 2011

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0225 SWIMMER

Mariechen Wehselau

1906 - 1992

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0239 SWIMMER

Maiola Kalili

1909 - 1972

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0289 MUSIC

Herb Flemming

1900 - 1976

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0314 SINGER

Lena Machado

1903 - 1974

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0322 ACTOR

Li Ling-Ai

1908 - 2003

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0333 ACTOR

Hilo Hattie

1901 - 1979

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0356 MUSIC

Sam Ku West

1907 - 1930

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0395 PAINTER

Cornelia MacIntyre Foley

1909 - 2010

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0419 PAINTER

John Chin Young

1909 - 1997

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0463 FATHER

Neal Blaisdell

1902 - 1975

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0530 SCULPTOR

Marguerite Louis Blasingame

1906 - 1947

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0551 FOOTBALL

Hank Hughes

1907 - 1963

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0565 PRINCE

Abigail Kapiolani Kawānanakoa

1903 - 1961

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0587 PRINCE

David Kalākaua Kawānanakoa

1904 - 1953

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0707 FOOTBALL

Walter Achiu

1902 - 1989

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0743 PRINCE

Lydia Liliuokalani Kawānanakoa

1905 - 1969

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0751 SWIMMER

Henry Luning

1905 - 1965

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0811 PHILOLOGIST

John Leslie Catterall

1905 - 1972

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0815 LAWYER

Charles Merton Merrill

1907 - 1996

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0861 POLITICIAN

Lucy Thurston Blaisdell

1903 - 1986

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0887 POLITICIAN

Chuck Mau

1907 - 1990

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