Elijah · English boy’s name

Elijah in Hawaiian is ʻElia

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when J became I, and a vowel was added at the end.

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eh·LEE·ah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Elijah in Hawaiian?

Elijah is ʻElia in Hawaiian, said eh-LEE-ah.

How Elijah became ʻElia

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Elijah J became I, 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.

How to say ʻElia

Say it eh-LEE-ah, leaning on LEE, sounding every vowel: e as in “bet”, i as “ee”, 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 Elijah in Hawaiian?

Elijah is ʻElia in Hawaiian, pronounced eh-LEE-ah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce ʻElia?

eh-LEE-ah, with the stress on LEE.

Why does ʻElia look so different from Elijah?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Elijah, J became I, and a vowel was added at the end.

Is ʻElia a real Hawaiian name?

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

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