Honolulu County is a merged city-county in Hawaii. The county encompasses both Honolulu (the state's capital and central city), the rest of Oahu Island and some minor outlying islands, including all of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (islands beyond) Niihau) save Midway Atoll. It was founded in 1907 by the city charter, which the Hawaii Territory Legislature approved.

The first people to live on these islands were most likely royal navigators from the Marquesas Islands, who were the strongest and most informed members of their community. They arrived in Hawaii about the year 900 A.D. Seafarers from New Zealand, Tahiti, and other Pacific islands arrived later. The southern extremities of the Big Island were the first regions colonized when the star navigators arrived on these islands.

On his third Pacific expedition, British Captain James Cook began the "modern period" of Hawaii on January 18, 1778. Together with his HMS Discovery and HMS Resolution sailors, everyone got along well with the island's residents initially, but things ended badly inside a year, with James Cook and the majority of his men slain on Hawaii's Big Island in 1779.

Ships from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries continued to arrive on the islands without incident.

In a period of worldwide imperialism, the Hawaiian Islands became a beacon for voyagers during the following 20 years. The Hawaiians, for the most part, greeted the foreign personnel with open arms. Following that, the inflow of missionaries over the following several years would irreversibly alter the island chain.

In 1920, Honolulu was the capital of the Hawaiian territory. In Downton and Waikiki, there were numerous resorts, but the tourism sector remained limited. The beautiful Moana Surfrider, an exclusive paradise primarily for the wealthy, was Waikiki's first luxury-trade hotel, opening in 1901. The Royal Hawaiian, which started operating in 1919, was no exception. Today, the entire Honolulu County is a hotbed of real estate properties including hotels, condos, lands, and many more.

According to mythology, Honolulu was the site of a Hawaiian settlement in 1100. Honolulu means "sheltered harbor" or "calm port." However, its previous name, Kou, roughly encompassed the region between Nuuanu Avenue and Alakea Street and from Hotel Street to Queen Street, the current downtown district's heart. Captain William Brown entered the harbor in 1794, which had been overlooked by Captain James Cook and other early explorers and had its outlet through the reef of Nuuanu Stream and was shielded by Sand Island. Honolulu rose to prominence in the islands after 1820, flourishing as a base for sandalwood traders and whalers.