What is Oliver in Hawaiian?
Oliver is ʻOliwa in Hawaiian, said oh-LEE-vah.
How Oliver became ʻOliwa
Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Oliver R became L, V became W, and a vowel was added at the end. A Hawaiian word cannot finish on a consonant, which is where the last vowel comes from. The ʻokina at the front is a consonant in Hawaiian, the catch in the voice before the first vowel.
Other recorded spellings of Oliver
Hawaiian records do not settle on one spelling for every borrowed name. Alongside ʻOliwa, Oliver was also written Oliwele. 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.
How to say ʻOliwa
Say it oh-LEE-vah, leaning on LEE, sounding every vowel: o as in “go”, i as “ee”, a as in “father”. The ʻokina (ʻ) is a catch in the voice, the break in the middle of “uh-oh”. The pronunciation guide covers the whole system.