What does Hōkūleʻa mean?
Hōkūleʻa is a Hawaiian unisex name that means star of gladness, the star Arcturus. The name comes from hōkū (star) + leʻa (joy). It is pronounced hoh-koo-LEH-ah, with 4 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
Name of the voyaging canoe that revived Polynesian wayfinding in 1976.
Hōkūleʻa belongs with other Hawaiian names about star, joy and ocean.
How to pronounce Hōkūleʻa
Say every vowel. A as in “father”, e as in “bet”, i as “ee”, o as in “go”, u as “oo”. The ʻokina (ʻ) in Hōkūleʻa is a short pause, like the break in “uh-oh”. A vowel with a line over it (kahakō) is held slightly longer. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is Hōkūleʻa a boy or girl name?
Hōkūleʻa is a unisex Hawaiian name. In Hawaiian tradition most names were given without regard to gender, and Hōkūleʻa is still used for both boys and girls.