However, certain European countries faced copyright issues with a trademarked name, leading to the film being titled Vaiana in those regions. An example of this is Italy, where the name Moana was trademarked by a travel company, prompting the film to be released as Oceania in that country.

The character Moana is not associated with Europe because her story is explicitly rooted in the Polynesian cultures of the South Pacific, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. The film's setting, the fictional island of Motunui, and the voyaging traditions depicted are based on the "Long Pause"—a real historical period 3,000 years ago when Polynesian people stopped voyaging for a millennium before suddenly resuming their exploration of the Pacific. In 2026, some confusion may arise regarding the name "Moana" in Europe. Due to trademark conflicts with a well-known late Italian adult film star named Moana Pozzi, Disney was legally required to change the film's title and the lead character's name in several European countries, including Italy, Spain, and France. In these regions, the film and the character are known as Vaiana. This name change was a branding necessity to avoid inappropriate search results and associations. Thus, while the "Polynesian" Moana exists globally, her name was "lost in translation" across much of Europe for purely legal and marketing reasons, leading some to wonder if she was a different character entirely.