What does Hiʻilei mean?
Hiʻilei is a Hawaiian girl name that means cherished child, carried like a lei. The name comes from hiʻi (to carry in the arms) + lei (garland, child). It is pronounced hee-ee-LAY, with 3 syllables. The stressed syllable is written in capitals.
Hiʻilei belongs with other Hawaiian names about love and gift.
How to pronounce Hiʻilei
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 Hiʻilei is a short pause, like the break in “uh-oh”. See the full Hawaiian pronunciation guide.
Is Hiʻilei a boy or girl name?
Hiʻilei is used mainly as a girl's name. Like most Hawaiian names it has no grammatical gender, so it can be given to any child, but modern usage leans feminine.