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Hawaiian Name Finder

Alexander · English boy’s name

Alexander in Hawaiian is ʻAlekanekelo

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when D became K, R became L, X became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and a vowel was added at the end.

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ah·leh·kah·neh·KEH·loh

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Alexander in Hawaiian?

Alexander is ʻAlekanekelo in Hawaiian, said ah-leh-kah-neh-KEH-loh.

How Alexander became ʻAlekanekelo

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Alexander D became K, R became L, X became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and a vowel was added at the end. Hawaiian does not run two consonants together, and every syllable ends on a vowel. A Hawaiian word cannot finish on a consonant, which is where the last vowel comes from. The ʻokina at the front is a consonant in Hawaiian, the catch in the voice before the first vowel.

Other recorded spellings of Alexander

Hawaiian records do not settle on one spelling for every borrowed name. Alongside ʻAlekanekelo, Alexander was also written Alika. Each is a real Hawaiian writing of the name rather than a variant anyone invented; which one a family used came down to who was doing the writing, and when.

How to say ʻAlekanekelo

Say it ah-leh-kah-neh-KEH-loh, leaning on KEH, sounding every vowel: a as in “father”, e as in “bet”, o as in “go”. The ʻokina (ʻ) is a catch in the voice, the break in the middle of “uh-oh”. The pronunciation guide covers the whole system.

Sources the Pukui and Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary, Place Names of Hawaii, Nānā i ke Kumu, wehewehe.org, Wiktionary's Hawaiian given names and U.S. Social Security baby-name records. How this site is compiled · Send a correction

Questions people ask

What is Alexander in Hawaiian?

Alexander is ʻAlekanekelo in Hawaiian, pronounced ah-leh-kah-neh-KEH-loh. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce ʻAlekanekelo?

ah-leh-kah-neh-KEH-loh, with the stress on KEH.

Why does ʻAlekanekelo look so different from Alexander?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Alexander, D became K, R became L, X became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and a vowel was added at the end.

Is ʻAlekanekelo a real Hawaiian name?

Yes, as a borrowed name. Hawaiian families have used ʻAlekanekelo since the 1800s, but it is Alexander respelled, not a name built from Hawaiian words.

All 164 English names in Hawaiian · Hawaiian boy's names