Kaaawa is a small community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the windward district of Koolauloa, City & County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the total population for Kaaawa was 1,379. In Hawaiian, kaaawa means "the wrasse (fish)". From the Hawaiian spelling Kaaawa it is seen that each a is pronounced separately and distinctly, set apart by the two okinas:.