Frances · English girl’s name

Frances in Hawaiian is Palakika

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

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pah·lah·KEE·kah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Frances in Hawaiian?

Frances is Palakika in Hawaiian, said pah-lah-KEE-kah.

How Frances became Palakika

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Frances C became K, F became P, R became L, S 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.

How to say Palakika

Say it pah-lah-KEE-kah, leaning on KEE, sounding every vowel: a as in “father”, i as “ee”. 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 Frances in Hawaiian?

Frances is Palakika in Hawaiian, pronounced pah-lah-KEE-kah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Palakika?

pah-lah-KEE-kah, with the stress on KEE.

Why does Palakika look so different from Frances?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Frances, C became K, F became P, R became L, S became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and a vowel was added at the end.

Is Palakika a real Hawaiian name?

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

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