'NCIS: Hawaii' Just Changed Its Name When CBS added the main cast for NCIS: Hawaii, the network also tweaked the show's name. It will officially be known as NCIS: Hawai'i, reflecting the state's name in the Hawaiian language and the official name for the Big Island of Hawai'i. The new series will be headlined by Vanessa Lachey, with Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon. Hawaii is most commonly spelled without the okina or glottal stop between the two i's. When Hawaii was admitted to the U.S. as a state in 1959, the federal government considered Hawaii the official state name. There have been movements to make Hawai'i the officially recognized name of the state in the past. Back in 2016, Kamana'o Mills of the Hawaii Board on Geographic Names told