“bright sky, heavenly brightness”
Girl
Long Hawaiian Names
Long Hawaiian names are full phrases, and the longest are the names of chiefs and queens. Each one here is broken into its words and marked for stress, so a six-syllable name is no harder than a two-syllable one.
The longest Hawaiian names
“Hawaiian form of Andrea”
Girl“Andrew”
Boy“rainbow”
Unisex“Abraham”
Boy“Eleazar”
Boy“the sorcery”
Girl“the great work”
Boy“the heavenly call”
Girl“the beloved lei, the cherished child”
Girl“the lei of heaven, the royal child”
Boy“the heavenly voice”
Boy“the beloved one, the sweetheart”
Girl“the lonely one, the one set apart”
Boy“the heavenly mist”
Girl“Gabriel”
Boy“arch of heaven”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Caroline”
Girl“the heavenly brightness”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Gregory”
Boy“my love”
Girl“my beloved lei”
Girl“night of the full moon”
Girl“heavenly loveliness”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Abigail”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Elizabeth”
Girl“house of the sun, the great mountain of Maui”
Unisex“the feather cloak”
Girl“the shark goddess who guards Pearl Harbor”
Girl“the zealous heavenly one, an 18th-century chief of Kauaʻi”
Boy
Four-syllable Hawaiian names
“the beloved, the loved one”
Unisex“cool, soft fragrance, like a mountain breeze”
Girl“heavenly star”
Girl“to soar like a hawk”
Girl“the royal sacred one, the highest point of heaven”
Girl“heavenly child, royal child”
Unisex“lei of love, beloved child”
Girl“heavenly rose, the pink rose of Maui”
Girl“heavenly mist”
Girl“heavenly flower, royal offspring”
Girl“beautiful flower”
Girl“Aaron”
Boy“Hawaiian form of Agnes”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Albert”
Boy“Abigail”
Girl“Esther”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Emilia”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Emilia”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Harriet”
Girl“mist, sky”
Girl“Hezekiah”
Boy“carried in the bosom, goddess of hula and healing, sister of Pele”
Girl“heavenly carrying in the arms”
Girl“Hawaiian form of Jacob and James”
Boy“Isaac”
Boy“Hawaiian form of Joseph”
Boy“Hawaiian form of Joshua”
Boy“royal hawk, hawk of heaven”
Unisex“heavenly frigate bird”
Girl“Zacharias”
Boy
Why Hawaiian names get long
A Hawaiian name is a phrase. Ka-lani-ana-ʻole is the royal chief without measure. Ke-ōpū-o-lani is the gathering of the clouds of heaven. Ka-lei-kau-maka is the lei placed before the eyes, a beloved child. Each piece is an ordinary word, and old Hawaiian names could run to a dozen of them, recording an event, an ancestor, and a hope for the child all at once. The longest name on record belonged to a nineteenth-century chiefess and ran past eighty letters.
How to say a long Hawaiian name
Break it into its words, then say each word with the stress on its second-to-last syllable. The name pages on this site show the breakdown. Kalanianaʻole is ka-la-ni-a-na-ʻo-le, said kah-lah-nee-ah-nah-OH-leh. Every vowel is spoken, the ʻokina is a brief pause, and a kahakō holds the vowel longer. Nobody in Hawaiʻi rushes a long name, and nobody expects a newcomer to either.
Long names in daily use
Long names are usually middle names today, shortened in conversation to the first word or two. A girl named Kehaulani is Kehau to her family, Kaʻiulani is Kaʻiu, and Kealohilani is Lohi. The full name is used on documents, at ceremonies, and by grandparents. The middle names page explains that tradition.