Lilo

What does Lilo mean in Hawaiian?

Lilo is a Hawaiian girl name that means generous one (popular reading), to be lost or absorbed. The name comes from lilo (to become, be lost in). It is pronounced LEE-loh, with 2 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.

Made famous by Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002).

Lilo belongs with other Hawaiian names about gift.

Why sources disagree about Lilo

Look Lilo up in three places and you will get two answers. Here is each reading and where it comes from.

“generous, giving freely”

The popular reading, from liloliloLilolilo means to be liberal and free in giving, and the shortened form is widely read this way in name references.

“to be lost, to pass out of one's possession”

Pukui–Elbert, primary entryThe dictionary's first sense: to become another's, to be transferred, to be gone. The reading Hawaiian speakers most often point to.

Which one to use. The dictionary leads with "lost" and the name references lead with "generous", which is why every search for this name turns up an argument. Both come from the same idea — something passing from your hands to someone else's — read once as loss and once as giving.

Lilo & Stitch

Almost everyone arrives at this name through the 2002 Disney film, and the meaning is part of why the film's title works: read as "lost", Lilo & Stitch becomes lost and stitched back together, which is the story.

The film's opening chant, "He Mele No Lilo", means a song for Lilo, and draws on an older chant composed for the chief Kākuhihewa. The film did not invent the name — but it is the reason you are reading this page.

The words inside Lilo

lilo means to become, to be lost.

How to pronounce Lilo

Say every vowel. The vowels in Lilo are i as “ee”, o as in “go”. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.

Is Lilo a boy or girl name?

Lilo is listed here as a girl's name. Of the 374 U.S. babies given it, 100% were girls and 0% boys.

How often Lilo is given in the U.S.

Social Security records show 374 U.S. babies named Lilo from 1955 to 2023, all girls. It appears in 19 of those 69 years. Its peak came in 2022, with 44, and 310 were born from 2014 to 2023. In the Hawaiʻi records it never reaches five births of one sex in a year, the level at which a name is listed.

How well recorded is Lilo?

Lilo is built from vocabulary recorded in Pukui–Elbert, the standard Hawaiian dictionary, but it has no entry among documented Hawaiian given names.