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ArchivesRe: First name OKALANI
in reply to a message by Andy ;—)
http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/names_traditional.html has a listing for Okalani which confirms the meaning "From Heaven."
I know that Lani means "Heaven" in Hawaiian and it is used as an element in many names. I could not confirm the meaning of Oka through my own research, however. The meanings I found for Oka (as a word) are "crumb, grounds, remnents." For 'Oka I found the meaning "oak (tree/wood.)" To find those meanings I used http://wehewehe.org/ . While the dictionary listed Lani as a name element it did not list Oka or 'Oka as one.
I'm not an expert but maybe this will help you.
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Hawkeye: "Who would name their kid BJ?!"
BJ: "My mother, Bea Hunicutt, and my father, Jay Hunicutt."
I know that Lani means "Heaven" in Hawaiian and it is used as an element in many names. I could not confirm the meaning of Oka through my own research, however. The meanings I found for Oka (as a word) are "crumb, grounds, remnents." For 'Oka I found the meaning "oak (tree/wood.)" To find those meanings I used http://wehewehe.org/ . While the dictionary listed Lani as a name element it did not list Oka or 'Oka as one.
I'm not an expert but maybe this will help you.
-----
Hawkeye: "Who would name their kid BJ?!"
BJ: "My mother, Bea Hunicutt, and my father, Jay Hunicutt."
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Replies
A little research on the same site reveals that O means "of" and KA is the definite article "the." As in any language, the use of articles is idiomatic--we don't say "the heaven" in English, but this is usual in Hawaiian. So O KA LANI would apparently mean "of (the) heaven."
This message was edited 8/25/2010, 12:47 PM
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Thanks for adding that! I hadn't thought of breaking it down like that. Makes sense, though.
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Thanks to both of you!
I checked the website you are referring to, which was very interesting. Still I would like to find out more about the cultural background of Hawaiian naming. Does anyone have a link for me?
I checked the website you are referring to, which was very interesting. Still I would like to find out more about the cultural background of Hawaiian naming. Does anyone have a link for me?
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