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Hawaiian Name Finder

Clara · English girl’s name

Clara in Hawaiian is Kalala

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

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kah·LAH·lah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Clara in Hawaiian?

Clara is Kalala in Hawaiian, said kah-LAH-lah.

How Clara became Kalala

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Clara C became K, R became L, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together. Hawaiian does not run two consonants together, and every syllable ends on a vowel.

How to say Kalala

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

Clara is Kalala in Hawaiian, pronounced kah-LAH-lah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Kalala?

kah-LAH-lah, with the stress on LAH.

Why does Kalala look so different from Clara?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Clara, C became K, R became L, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together.

Is Kalala a real Hawaiian name?

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

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