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Theresa · English girl’s name

Theresa in Hawaiian is Keleka

The form Hawaiian speakers have written since the 1800s, when R became L, S became K, and T became K.

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Say it

keh·LEH·kah

The gold syllable takes the stress.

What is Theresa in Hawaiian?

Theresa is Keleka in Hawaiian, said keh-LEH-kah.

How Theresa became Keleka

Hawaiian is written with thirteen letters, so in Theresa R became L, S became K, and T became K.

Keleka has a page of its own as a Hawaiian given name, with its popularity and the names it is usually paired with.

How to say Keleka

Say it keh-LEH-kah, leaning on LEH, sounding every vowel: e as in “bet”, a as in “father”. The pronunciation guide covers the whole system.

Sources the Pukui and Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary, Place Names of Hawaii, Nānā i ke Kumu, wehewehe.org, Wiktionary's Hawaiian given names and U.S. Social Security baby-name records. How this site is compiled · Send a correction

Questions people ask

What is Theresa in Hawaiian?

Theresa is Keleka in Hawaiian, pronounced keh-LEH-kah. It is the form used in Hawaiian-language records since the 1800s.

How do you pronounce Keleka?

keh-LEH-kah, with the stress on LEH.

Why does Keleka look so different from Theresa?

Each sound Hawaiian lacks was swapped for the nearest one it has. In Theresa, R became L, S became K, and T became K.

Is Keleka a real Hawaiian name?

Yes, as a borrowed name. Hawaiian families have used Keleka since the 1800s, but it is Theresa respelled, not a name built from Hawaiian words.

All 164 English names in Hawaiian · Hawaiian girl's names