What does Kāwika mean in Hawaiian?
Kāwika is a Hawaiian boy name that means Hawaiian form of David. It is pronounced kah-VEE-kah, with 3 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
Kāwika belongs with other Hawaiian names about biblical and love.
The mele Kāwika
Kāwika is the name of one of the best-known Hawaiian chants set to music, an ʻōlapa composed in honour of King David Kalākaua, who reigned from 1874 to 1891 and was widely addressed as Kāwika. It is a staple of hula competition to this day, which is why searches for the name often arrive looking for lyrics.
Kalākaua is the anchor the name hangs on. He reversed decades of suppression of hula and Hawaiian-language publishing, and is remembered as the Merrie Monarch — the festival named for him is the largest hula competition in the world.
David in Hawaiian
Kāwika is the Hawaiian form of David, the English name respelled with Hawaiian sounds. It is not a translation of what David means, but it has been used by Hawaiian families since the 1800s. The page on David in Hawaiian traces which letters changed and why.
How to pronounce Kāwika
Say every vowel. The vowels in Kāwika are a as in “father”, i as “ee”. A vowel with a line over it (kahakō) is held slightly longer. A w after i or e is pronounced like a v. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is Kāwika a boy or girl name?
Kāwika is listed here as a boy's name. Of the 1,185 U.S. babies given it, 0% were girls and 100% boys.
How often Kāwika is given in the U.S.
Social Security records show 1,185 U.S. babies named Kāwika from 1968 to 2023, all boys, counted as Kawika because the records drop the ʻokina and kahakō. It appears in 53 of those 56 years. Its peak was 1992, with 35. The 2014 to 2023 total of 188 is fewer than in all earlier years combined. In Hawaiʻi itself, 672 babies born in the state were named Kāwika from 1973 to 2021, with a peak of 29 in 1981. 57 were born there from 2012 to 2021.
How well recorded is Kāwika?
Kāwika has its own entry among Wiktionary’s documented Hawaiian given names.