What does ʻIolani mean?
ʻIolani is a Hawaiian unisex name that means royal hawk, hawk of heaven. The name comes from ʻio (hawk) + lani (heaven, royal). It is pronounced ee-oh-LAH-nee, with 4 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu was the royal residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
ʻIolani belongs with other Hawaiian names about bird, royalty and sky.
How to pronounce ʻIolani
Say every vowel. A as in “father”, e as in “bet”, i as “ee”, o as in “go”, u as “oo”. The ʻokina (ʻ) in ʻIolani is a short pause, like the break in “uh-oh”. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is ʻIolani a boy or girl name?
ʻIolani is a unisex Hawaiian name. In Hawaiian tradition most names were given without regard to gender, and ʻIolani is still used for both boys and girls.