ʻĀina Haina is an unincorporated town of the City & County of Honolulu in the state of Hawaiʻi of the United States. Located on the island of Oʻahu, ʻĀina Haina is a residential community developed around Kalanianaole Highway east of Waikīkī and Diamond Head. ʻĀina Haina was named after local dairyman and owner of Hind-Clarke Dairy, Robert Hind. ʻĀina Haina in the Hawaiian language means "Hind's Land".^[1] A main street is a loop named Hind Drive for him.^[2] ʻĀina Haina has two elementary schools (Aina Haina Elementary School and Holy Nativity School) and a shopping center.

Debate rages over how Aina Haina got its name. Some believe it is rooted in ‘Haina’ as the Hawaiian word meaning ‘sacrifice’. The presence of the ancient Kawauoha Heiau deep in the valley, believed to have been the site of human sacrifice, strengthens the case.

Another, more popular story, is that ‘Haina’ is also the Hawaiian translation for ‘Hind’, which was the name of the dairy farm, and its owner, that took up much of this district; Aina Hina = Hind’s Land.

Robert Hind established the Hind-Clarke Dairy on this real estate in 1924, the business continuing here until 1946. Robert died in 1938, but his family carried on, ultimately selling the dairy operation in the late 1940’s.  Kawaiku’i isn’t just the name of the park on the eastern side of Aina Haina Beach. It was also the name used by the ancient Hawaiians for an area that included both. Kawaiku’i, translated, means ‘the united water’. Some believe the name arises from the fact that so many came, both locals and passers-by, to get fresh water from the springs here. Another story says the name was given because the fresh and salt water met, or united, here.

Outside of fishermen, this was not a heavily populated area for hundreds of years. This condition extended into the 20th Century when Robert Hind bought a large acreage that took in all of Aina Haina, up to the ocean, for his Hind-Clarke Dairy operation. The dairy farm was well known in Honolulu and supplied much of the milk and dairy products for the town.

Declining fortunes and the devastation from the 1946 tsunami compelled the Hind family to sell the dairy business and switch to developing their real estate holdings. They chose the right time, with the post-World War II era setting off a demand for housing that was unprecedented.

Aina Haina Beachfront homes first went up at this time on the exquisite oceanfront lots that had been mostly bare all these years. Residents and visitors can still see freshwater springing up from the sands at times.

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