What does nēnē mean in Hawaiian?
Nēnē is the Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis), the state bird, which descends from Canada geese that reached the islands half a million years ago. Once down to thirty birds, it has recovered to a few thousand. Kanēnē is the goose, Nēnēlani a heavenly goose.
Say it NEH-neh. Every vowel is pronounced, and the capitalized syllable takes the stress. A vowel with a line over it (kahakō) is held a little longer. The pronunciation guide covers the rules.
On this site nēnē is part of 5 names: 3 begin with it, 1 end with it, and 1 carry it elsewhere. Most are girl names, and all of them sit in the group of Hawaiian names meaning bird.