The word "gannet" comes from the Old English word ganot, which means "strong" or "forceful", based on the bird's powerful flight and dynamic, high-speed plunge-diving capabilities. Ganot itself is derived from Proto-Germanic roots related to the word "goose" – gannets were historically nicknamed "solan geese". In New Zealand, the bird is widely known by its Māori name, tākapu (or tākupu), a term of wider Polynesian origin used traditionally to describe gannets or boobies. The Australasian gannet ranges across coastal waters and offshore islands of New Zealand and southern and eastern Australia, stretching from Western Australia to Queensland.
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