What does kukui mean in Hawaiian?
Kukui is the candlenut tree (Aleurites moluccana), the state tree, whose oily nuts were burned for light. From that use kukui also means lamp, torch, and enlightenment, and a wise person is a kukui. Kakukui is the light, Kukuilani heavenly light, Leikukui a lei of polished kukui nuts.
Say it koo-KOO-ee. Every vowel is pronounced, and the capitalized syllable takes the stress. The pronunciation guide covers the rules.
On this site kukui is part of 10 names: 4 begin with it, 4 end with it, and 2 carry it elsewhere. They split evenly between girls and boys, and all of them sit in the group of Hawaiian names meaning light.