Josephine · English girl’s name

Josephine in Hawaiian is Iokepine

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

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Say it

ee·oh·keh·PEE·neh

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Josephine in Hawaiian?

Josephine is Iokepine in Hawaiian, said ee-oh-keh-PEE-neh.

How Josephine became Iokepine

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Josephine J became I, S became K, and a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together. Hawaiian does not run two consonants together, and every syllable ends on a vowel.

How to say Iokepine

Say it ee-oh-keh-PEE-neh, leaning on PEE, sounding every vowel: i as “ee”, o as in “go”, e as in “bet”. 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 Josephine in Hawaiian?

Josephine is Iokepine in Hawaiian, pronounced ee-oh-keh-PEE-neh. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Iokepine?

ee-oh-keh-PEE-neh, with the stress on PEE.

Why does Iokepine look so different from Josephine?

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

Is Iokepine a real Hawaiian name?

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

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