Name

Keanu Reeves. Keanu Charles Reeves. K.C. Reeves. The Wall. Page Templeton III. Chuck Spidena [LOL]

As Keanu once remarked, “My name can’t be that tough to pronounce!” Most people pronounce Keanu’s name as “kee-anu” [or worse, as "kee-noo"]. His name, correctly pronounced is “keh-anu.” “Ke” is pronounced with the shorter sound of “keh”–similar to “kay”, but closer to “Ken” without the “n” sound. “Anu” is more “uhnnu” than “ah-nu”.In Hawaiian, Keanu is comprised of “ke” meaning “the” and “anu” meaning “cool.” So Keanu literally means, “The Cool.”.

The Hawaiian language is a poetic language, so figuratively, his name also could mean “cool breeze over the mountains” which is what Keanu gives as the meaning of his name. It’s also possible that his name is part of a longer name. Keanu was named by his father after Keanu’s great-grand uncle, Henry Keanu Reeves. It is possible that he was also named after another great-grand uncle, Charles Keaweaheulu Reeves.

Hapa-Haole: Keanu’s father [Samuel Nowlin Reeves] is half-Hawaiian, half-Chinese and his mother [Patricia] is English. He is ‘hapa-haole’ [pronouced 'hoppa how-lee'] ~ an Hawaiian term, which means “half white/foreigner.” Once considered derogatory, it is now a simple way to describe a person of partial Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry.

Keanu Reeves: The meaning of his names

Keanu is Hawaiian and means ‘cool breeze.’ Keh-anu is literally in Polynesian ‘the breeze cool.’ It is a moderating evening wind that blows in off the Pacific over coastal mountains.

Reeves is a possessive surname from the medieval occupation of reeve, who at various times and places could have been a bailiff, an overseer, or a magistrate. Reeves ‘of the reeve’ could also denote one who worked in the house of a reeve, or who was the son of a reeve.