Too "exotic" or okay?

ElleB* · February 2011

Hi!

I'm new to this board, but figured that you are probably the ones to ask this: I live in Hawaii and am part Hawaiian, but am basically as white as snow in appearance. My DH is (also) very white, but really wants our kid to have a Hawaiian name. So far we've come up with several possibilities that are very workable here, but I'm afraid that as we get more "global" they will be un-pronounceable or "too exotic". What do you think?

Hali'a (prn Holly-uh)

Kalamaku (cah-la-ma-coo)

Kalani (cah-la-knee)

eta: sorry, can't spell "hi"

sweetep15 · February 2011

I think out of those Kalani will be the most workable and give you the least amount of grief.

Nanna · February 2011

I like Kalani the best out of those three choices.

clee2009 · February 2011

Of the names I like Kalani the best. I once had college class with a Kalani and my best friends little sister (who is also half Hawaiian) has Kalani as her middle name. I don't remember the meaning of the name but I remember it is pretty.

Bubbalub · February 2011

I think only the name with the apostrophe will cause any kind of real problem. They are all very pretty! What are their meanings?

clee2009 · February 2011

clee2009:

Of the names I like Kalani the best. I once had college class with a Kalani and my best friends little sister (who is also half Hawaiian) has Kalani as her middle name. I don't remember the meaning of the name but I remember it is pretty.

Also, I remember Kalani getting a lot of "oohs and awws" in my college class. So even Nebraska is accepting of that name

ElleB* · February 2011

Loosely translated:

Halia is a sudden rememberance of someone/something

Kalamaku is a torch for God (more or less, anyways)

Kalani is the heavens

The apostrophe (in Hali'a) would probably not make it onto most official documents, but does change how you would say it, here.

shellybird101 · February 2011

MrsW801 · February 2011

Kalani is the only one I think would work well and not be too exotic or hard to pronounce.

Mrs.Leah.Maria · February 2011

Nanna:
I like Kalani the best out of those three choices.

This.

FMIL&MOB · February 2011

Kalani would be my choice of the three options.

Other names Leia, Leilani, Miliani, Malana

elyshaswedding · February 2011

I went to college with a Kalani, he was very handsome and very Hawaiian.

I loved his name and think it is easily pronounced correctly. And if he REALLY wanted a nickname, Kal is easy and works well.

ryry1977 · February 2011

All 3 are pretty names, I would just go with whichever one you guys like best. They are hard to say correctly if you don't know. But I don't think that matters much:)

quezzo · February 2011

I love Kalani! I know a little girl with this name and she is adorable!

[Deleted User] · February 2011

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mlf625 · February 2011

Kalani. The others might be fine if your child stays in Hawaii, but I don't see them working well if he/she goes off to college in, say, Minnesota.

alliejo725 · February 2011

sweetep15:
I think out of those Kalani will be the most workable and give you the least amount of grief.

I agree. Kalani is somewhat familiar, and easy to spell and say. The first name (with the apostrophe) is just asking for spelling mishaps.

I think they're all lovely, though, and think it's cool that you want to honor your Hawaiian heritage.

Allie30 · February 2011

I love Kalani, and I also love Halia (without the apostrophe). I don't know if it works in hawaiian without the apostrophe, though.I think I might even prefer Halia because of the meaning. I knew a woman (Latina) whose middle name was Kalani because she was born in hawaii and her parents wanted to honor that.

The other one is not so pretty, unfortunately.

ElleB* · February 2011

mlf625:
Kalani. The others might be fine if your child stays in Hawaii, but I don't see them working well if he/she goes off to college in, say, Minnesota.

FMIL&MOB:
Other names Leia, Leilani, Miliani, Malana

.

Kinda funny: DH is from...Minnesota, and one of those names...is mine. Thanks for the replies, I suppose what I'm looking for is are they too hard to say (with the full understanding that I/the kid would probably have to say it for people at least once). My inlaws, including the great-grandparents are all fine with my name: I only had to say it once or twice for them to get it.

sugarpumpkin716 · February 2011

kalani

kjgilhoo · February 2011

This. Kalani is probably the easiest for the masses to say, but pick what you love. You are honoring your heritage and people will understand that.

07bride · February 2011

Really like Kalani- other Hawaiian names I like are:

Malia, Kanoa, Rahela, Peresila (peh-reh-SEE-lah)

Notwifezilla7 · February 2011

I like Kalani & Hali'a and think either could be good. (I am assuming this are feminine names). I had a little girl who's father was from Hawaii, her mother white. She and her two brothers were the most beautiful children I had seen. Her name was Ailina while the pronounced it A-leen-ah in the lower 48, her mom explained that on the island it was A-I-Leen-Ah, which I thought was beautiful!!

nbenti · February 2011

I really like Kalani.

sunnyday016 · February 2011

I agree with Kalani. Chances are that your LO won't live in Hawaii their entire life, and the others could cause them major spelling/pronunciation issues.

zoedrex · February 2011

I really like Kalani, and knew a Kalani once. I also have two male Hawaiian friends names Kalena and Kila. I prefer Kalena out of those two

akklotz0810 · February 2011

i love that all the names are unique and there will not be 5 kids in the same class with the same name. i like kalani the best.

moonfaerie · February 2011

I like Hali'a best.

ubermoose · February 2011

First off, I really appreciate authentic names from other regions.

I will warn you that there is some degree of ethnocentricity on this board. This isn't all or even most members by any means, but I have seen names been put down for having a more global flair to them. So talk it with a grain of salt! Also keep in mind that you do live in the region where you are getting your naming inspiration from, so people there are more familiar with that style of name.

I really like Kalani--it just has a strong, beautiful sound to it. It also has an intuitive pronunciation to it.

Kalamaku sounds fun to me. It's not as flowingly pretty as Kalani, but it has a nice vibe to it. On the right kid, it could be awesome!

I'm neutral about Hali'a.

J+R · February 2011

Kalani if any of them... but I would probably just opt for a Hawaiian middle name instead.

Sunshine is mine · February 2011

MrsMooney:

I think Kalani would be the least difficult for other people, but that being said I like Hali'a the best (I don't mind "exotic" sounding names)

This

hurricane1212 · February 2011

Of your choices, I like Kalani. I prefer Alani. I also like Malie (it's my [Hawaiian] SILs MN and they pronounce it like Molly-A.)

msmerymac · February 2011

Kalani. But I think you could use any of those as a middle name.

leecrystalwed08 · February 2011

Nanna:
I like Kalani the best out of those three choices.

Yes

Kitty Holland · February 2011

They all seem to be fairly phonetic so there should be no problem with pronunciation. I live in the Netherlands and they seem like pretty names to me. I like the first one best.

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