Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. Translation Placenames are often difficult to translate, and the original derivation of Aotearoa isn't known for certain. The word can be broken up as: ao = cloud, tea = white, and roa = lo… (More on Aotearoa)