What does hea mean in Hawaiian?
Hea is to call out — to summon by name, to invite, to chant someone forward. It is the verb behind the oli that calls visitors into a place.
Kāhea, the same word lengthened, is the call itself, and it names the practice of calling out at the edge of a place and waiting to be answered before entering. That exchange is still used at the start of ceremonies and in schools.
In names, hea carries the sense of a child called for, or called by name.
Say it HEH-ah. Every vowel is pronounced, and the capitalized syllable takes the stress. The pronunciation guide covers the rules.
On this site hea is part of 4 names: 1 begin with it, 2 end with it, and 1 carry it elsewhere. Most are girl names, and all of them sit in the group of Hawaiian names meaning music.