Therese · English girl’s name

Therese in Hawaiian is Kelekia

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when R became L, S became K, T became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and the final e became a.

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keh·leh·KEE·ah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Therese in Hawaiian?

Therese is Kelekia in Hawaiian, said keh-leh-KEE-ah.

How Therese became Kelekia

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Therese R became L, S became K, T became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and the final e became a. Hawaiian does not run two consonants together, and every syllable ends on a vowel.

Kelekia 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 Kelekia

Say it keh-leh-KEE-ah, leaning on KEE, sounding every vowel: e as in “bet”, i as “ee”, 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 Therese in Hawaiian?

Therese is Kelekia in Hawaiian, pronounced keh-leh-KEE-ah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Kelekia?

keh-leh-KEE-ah, with the stress on KEE.

Why does Kelekia look so different from Therese?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Therese, R became L, S became K, T became K, a vowel was slipped between the consonants that ran together, and the final e became a.

Is Kelekia a real Hawaiian name?

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

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