Joseph · English boy’s name

Joseph in Hawaiian is Iokepa

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

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Say it

ee·oh·KEH·pah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Joseph in Hawaiian?

Joseph is Iokepa in Hawaiian, said ee-oh-KEH-pah.

How Joseph became Iokepa

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Joseph J became I, S became K, and a vowel was added at the end. A Hawaiian word cannot finish on a consonant, which is where the last vowel comes from.

Iokepa 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 Iokepa

Say it ee-oh-KEH-pah, leaning on KEH, sounding every vowel: i as “ee”, o as in “go”, 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 Joseph in Hawaiian?

Joseph is Iokepa in Hawaiian, pronounced ee-oh-KEH-pah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Iokepa?

ee-oh-KEH-pah, with the stress on KEH.

Why does Iokepa look so different from Joseph?

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

Is Iokepa a real Hawaiian name?

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

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