What is John in Hawaiian?
John is Keoni in Hawaiian, said keh-OH-nee.
How John became Keoni
Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in John 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.
Other recorded spellings of John
Hawaiian records do not settle on one spelling for every borrowed name. Alongside Keoni, John was also written Ioane. Each is a real Hawaiian writing of the name rather than a variant anyone invented; which one a family used came down to who was doing the writing, and when.
Keoni has a page of its own as a Hawaiian given name, with its popularity and the names it is usually paired with.
How to say Keoni
Say it keh-OH-nee, leaning on OH, sounding every vowel: e as in “bet”, o as in “go”, i as “ee”. The pronunciation guide covers the whole system.