Find a Hawaiian name with meaning.

In the United States, Leilani, Malia, Kai, Keanu, Kalani, Kailani, Moana, Noa, and Koa are the most widely used Hawaiian names. Leilani has ranked in the U.S. top 100 girl names since 2020, and Kai is a top-100 boy name.

Most Hawaiian names are ordinary Hawaiian words joined together, so the meaning can be read from the parts. Leilani is lei (garland) and lani (heaven), a heavenly lei. Many words carry a second sense too: lei is also a beloved child, and pua is a flower and also offspring.

Hawaiian names (inoa) are considered to carry mana, or spiritual power. Names could come to a family in a dream (inoa pō), commemorate an event (inoa hoʻomanaʻo), or be given by a chief. Many families still choose names that describe the child's birth, a place, or a quality they hope the child will carry.

Every vowel is pronounced. A as in father, e as in bet, i as ee, o as in go, u as oo. W sounds like v after i or e. The ʻokina (ʻ) is a brief pause, and a kahakō (a line over a vowel) makes it longer. Stress usually falls on the next-to-last syllable, as in lay-LAH-nee and keh-AH-noo.

The Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters: the vowels a, e, i, o, u, the consonants h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and the ʻokina. That is why English names change when they come into Hawaiian: Robert becomes Lopaka, Samuel becomes Kamuela, and Mary becomes Malia.

The ʻokina marks a glottal stop, the catch in your throat in the middle of “uh-oh”. It is a letter in its own right, shaped like a small 6 (ʻ). Kaʻiulani is kah-ee-oo-LAH-nee, with a small break after Ka. Leaving it out can change the meaning of a word, so this site keeps it wherever it is documented.

The kahakō is the line over a vowel (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). It means hold the vowel a beat longer, and it usually takes the stress. Hōkū (star) is HOH-koo, with both vowels drawn out.

Start from a meaning you care about, then say the name aloud using its pronunciation, check how it is spelled with its ʻokina and kahakō, and read what words it is built from. Names marked Modern here are new combinations of Hawaiian words rather than names found in the older sources. For a name with family or cultural weight, a Hawaiian language teacher is the surest check.

Lani means sky or heaven and also signals royalty or high rank. It is the most common element in Hawaiian names, found in Leilani (heavenly lei), Kalani (the heavens), Nalani (the heavens), Kailani (sea and sky), and Pualani (heavenly flower).

Traditionally, yes. Most Hawaiian names were given without regard to gender, and many still are. Kai, Kalani, Keola, Makana, and Kealoha are used for any child. Modern usage has made some names lean feminine (names ending in lani) or masculine (Koa, Ikaika, Kekoa).