Arthur · English boy’s name

Arthur in Hawaiian is ʻAka

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when R fell away, T became K, and a vowel was added at the end.

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AH·kah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Arthur in Hawaiian?

Arthur is ʻAka in Hawaiian, said AH-kah.

How Arthur became ʻAka

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Arthur R fell away, T became K, and a vowel was added at the end. 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.

Not to be confused with aka, a different Hawaiian word meaning “shadow, reflection; embryo”.

How to say ʻAka

Say it AH-kah, leaning on AH, sounding every vowel: a as in “father”. 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 Arthur in Hawaiian?

Arthur is ʻAka in Hawaiian, pronounced AH-kah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce ʻAka?

AH-kah, with the stress on AH.

Why does ʻAka look so different from Arthur?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Arthur, R fell away, T became K, and a vowel was added at the end.

Is ʻAka a real Hawaiian name?

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

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