The reasons for the failures in Hawaii are many and varied. Locals, protective of their Polynesian culture, in some cases have balked at abandoning traditional Hawaiian names for places. “People here believe that land has spirit and feeling,” said Hono­lulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “It’s not just dirt.”

Cost has torpedoed at least one attempt. In other instances, critics have complained that naming efforts are premature as long as Obama is still in office, still so young and still among the living. Local laws prohibit politicians from naming parks or public buildings after people until they have devoted at least 50 years of service to the community or are dead.

“Because he’s still president, it felt a little goofy and opportunistic for people to run around trying to honor him as if his public service was already complete,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

Sometimes, as in the case of Sandy Beach, it’s hard to identify a single point of failure. A few opponents of Chang’s effort simply liked the old name. Others fretted that naming Sandy Beach after Obama might actually be dangerous. The beach boasts big waves, and a notoriously shallow shore break led to 16 severe spinal cord injuries between 2009 and 2013.