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Hawaiian Name Finder

Eric · English boy’s name

Eric in Hawaiian is ʻElika

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

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eh·LEE·kah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Eric in Hawaiian?

Eric is ʻElika in Hawaiian, said eh-LEE-kah.

How Eric became ʻElika

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Eric C became K, R became L, 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 ʻElika

Say it eh-LEE-kah, 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 Eric in Hawaiian?

Eric is ʻElika in Hawaiian, pronounced eh-LEE-kah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce ʻElika?

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

Why does ʻElika look so different from Eric?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Eric, C became K, R became L, and a vowel was added at the end.

Is ʻElika a real Hawaiian name?

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

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