Maile

When I was 5 years old my mother bought me a baby doll and I named it MaiLei because my daddy, who is 100% Hawaiian said it would be a pretty name. When I was 17 I gave birth to my first daughter and named her MaiLei. I added an "i" to the end to help people pronounce her name correctly since we live on the mainland. 'My lay' is how you pronounce the name! The meaning is a symbolic vine used in special ceremonies like being blessed. The spelling Maile is pronounced the same way as my daughter's name! It's a green vine that is very strong but very spiritual in my culture! People have taken the name way out of context by naming their children Miley which has no meaning and is not related to my culture (the Hawaiian culture). Fyi... my baby doll was named in 1987. My daughter was named in 99!