A new app for information on sexually transmitted diseases is changing its name after complaints the initial moniker, "Hula," is culturally insensitive to Native Hawaiians, the app's owner has announced.

Ramin Bastani, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Qpid.me Inc., said it actually took weeks for his team to understand why dubbing a product associated with STDs after one of the Hawaiian culture's most revered and important art forms might be more than a little troubling for those within the Native Hawaiian community.

The free app's website says it functions to help users find an STD test center, retrieve testing results online and share their verified STD status with selected others.

"We immediately engaged the community and listened with an open mind," Bastani told the Associated Press. "By doing so, we gained a great respect for hula, the Hawaiian culture and its history" and "as we continued to listen and learn, we realized this is the right thing for us to do."

Bastani apologized to anyone who was offended by the name.

Those opposed to the original name circulated an online petition that asked Bastani to change the name because it exploits what many Hawaiians consider a sacred cultural dance.

According to the Website huladancehq.com, hula was originally called "Ha'a" until the 1800s, after Christian missionaries landed in Hawaii and, aside from converting many Native Hawaiians to Christianity, also managed to get the dance form banned for many years because of its pagan beginnings.

The site explains hula "has its origins in ancient history as a ritual dance performed for the Volcano goddess, Pele. It is said that her sister, Hi'iaka originally performed the dance for Pele. The goddess Laka is the keeper of the dance. She was honored with prayers, offerings and leis which were given by the dancers. Laka is the goddess most often referred to when it comes to modern Hula dancing. The history is an oral one and variations of the ancient myth exist."

When the name controversy first surfaced, Bastani had announced the app's "Hula" name would remain and he stayed with his first decision even after the petition had gained wider attention in March --- although he was quick to remove any references to the "getting lei'd" thematic tie-in used in the early marketing of the app.

On May 2, the state's Senate Hawaiian Affairs Caucus and also Office of Hawaiian Affairs issued a statement calling the name "highly insensitive, tactless and inappropriate."

Bastani, explaining the app is about "helping people retrieve and share health information" assured those concerned the app's new name won't have anything to do with Hawaii, the Associated Press reported.

Bastani estimated the name change may take a month or so to implement.

"We need to redo our entire website, all of our marketing, our application," he said. "There's a lot we need to do."