In many Polynesian languages, including Tongan, the word ''tonga'' comes from ''fakatonga'', which means "southwards", and the archipelago is so named because it is the southernmost group among the island groups of central Polynesia. The word ''tonga'' is cognate to the Hawaiian word "kona", meaning "leeward", which is the origin of the name for the Kona District in Hawai’i.