What does ʻio mean in Hawaiian?
ʻIo is the Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius), the only hawk native to the islands and a symbol of royalty because it flies highest. ʻIolani, royal hawk, was the name of Kamehameha IV and of the palace in Honolulu. Kaʻio is the hawk, Leiʻio a lei of hawks.
Say it EE-oh. Every vowel is pronounced, and the capitalized syllable takes the stress. The ʻokina (ʻ) is a short catch in the voice, like the break in “uh-oh”. The pronunciation guide covers the rules.
On this site ʻio is part of 2 names: 2 begin with it, 0 end with it. Most are girl names, and all of them sit in the group of Hawaiian names meaning bird.