- Origin: Maori
- Meaning: “afterlife; departing place of spirits.”
- Gender: Unisex
- Eng (RAY-in-gah); Maori (RANG-in-guh)
A Maori name drawn from the word reinga, meaning “the leaping-off place; the spirit world; the afterlife, in Maori tradition, the far-northern headland of Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua) is the sacred point where the spirits of the dead begin their journey back to the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki.
It is also the name of a species of spider endemic to New Zealand.
It is used as a unisex name.
A notable bearer is New Zealand netball coach, Reinga Bloxham Te Huia.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Reinga
- https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?keywords=reinga
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinga_Bloxham
- https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/northland/places/te-paki-recreation-reserve/cape-reinga-te-rerenga-wairua/heritage/
- https://onehera.waikato.ac.nz/pages/maori-names?name=Reinga