What does Keliʻi mean in Hawaiian?
Keliʻi is a Hawaiian boy name that means the chief (simplified spelling of Kealiʻi). The name comes from ke (the) + aliʻi (chief). It is pronounced keh-LEE-ee, with 3 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
Keliʻi belongs with other Hawaiian names about royalty.
Keliʻi and Kealiʻi
Keliʻi is a shortened spelling of Kealiʻi, the chief. In speech the ea of ke aliʻi runs together, and Keliʻi writes the name the way it is usually said. Both spellings are in use, as given names and as family names.
Aliʻi were the chiefly class of old Hawaiʻi. The word survives in everyday use for royalty and for anyone in charge, and in names it expresses respect for the child as someone of standing.
The words inside Keliʻi
aliʻi means chief, chiefess, royal and appears in 5 Hawaiian names, among them Ailani, Kealiʻi, Aliʻi, Kūaliʻi.
How to pronounce Keliʻi
Say every vowel. The vowels in Keliʻi are e as in “bet”, i as “ee”. The ʻokina (ʻ) in Keliʻi is a short pause, like the break in “uh-oh”. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is Keliʻi a boy or girl name?
Keliʻi is listed here as a boy's name. Of the 261 U.S. babies given it, 0% were girls and 100% boys.
How often Keliʻi is given in the U.S.
Social Security records show 261 U.S. babies named Keliʻi from 1973 to 2023, all boys, counted as Kelii because the records drop the ʻokina and kahakō. It appears in 36 of those 51 years. Its peak was 1990, with 14. The 2014 to 2023 total of 23 is fewer than in all earlier years combined. In Hawaiʻi itself, 102 babies born in the state were named Keliʻi from 1973 to 2021, with a peak of 10 in 1990. No year after 2006 reached five births of one sex there.
How well recorded is Keliʻi?
Keliʻi has its own entry among Wiktionary’s documented Hawaiian given names.