What does Kanaiʻalani mean in Hawaiian?
Kanaiʻalani is a Hawaiian girl name that means the heavenly dolphin. The name comes from ka (the) + naiʻa (dolphin) + lani (heaven). It is pronounced kah-nye-ah-LAH-nee, with 5 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
A modern combination of common Hawaiian name elements rather than a traditional name.
Kanaiʻalani belongs with other Hawaiian names about ocean, heaven, sky and royalty.
How to pronounce Kanaiʻalani
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 Kanaiʻalani is a short pause, like the break in “uh-oh”. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is Kanaiʻalani a boy or girl name?
Kanaiʻalani is used mainly as a girl's name. Like most Hawaiian names it has no grammatical gender, so it can be given to any child, but modern usage leans feminine.