Jessica · English girl’s name

Jessica in Hawaiian is Iekika

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when C became K, J became I, S became K, the doubled consonant was written once, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together.

Translate another name

Say it

ee·eh·KEE·kah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Jessica in Hawaiian?

Jessica is Iekika in Hawaiian, said ee-eh-KEE-kah.

How Jessica became Iekika

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Jessica C became K, J became I, S became K, the doubled consonant was written once, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together. Hawaiian never writes a consonant twice, so the pair collapses to one. Hawaiian does not run two consonants together, and every syllable ends on a vowel.

How to say Iekika

Say it ee-eh-KEE-kah, leaning on KEE, sounding every vowel: i as “ee”, e as in “bet”, 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 Jessica in Hawaiian?

Jessica is Iekika in Hawaiian, pronounced ee-eh-KEE-kah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Iekika?

ee-eh-KEE-kah, with the stress on KEE.

Why does Iekika look so different from Jessica?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Jessica, C became K, J became I, S became K, the doubled consonant was written once, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together.

Is Iekika a real Hawaiian name?

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

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