What does naiʻa mean in Hawaiian?
Naiʻa is the dolphin, in particular the spinner dolphin that rests in the bays of the islands. Naiʻa is a unisex name, and it forms Kanaiʻa (the dolphin), Naiʻalani (heavenly dolphin), and Leinaiʻa (a lei of dolphins).
Say it NYE-ah. 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 naiʻa is part of 11 names: 5 begin with it, 4 end with it, and 2 carry it elsewhere. Most are girl names, and all of them sit in the group of Hawaiian names meaning ocean.