How to Say "My Name Is" in Hawaiian

In Hawaiian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi), "My name is [Name]" is:

ʻO [Name] koʻu inoa (most common, natural)

or

ʻO wau ʻo [Name] (emphatic: "It is I, [Name]")

Breakdown

• ʻO — Subject marker (precedes proper nouns/pronouns)
• wau / au — "I" (wau = emphatic; au = standard)
• ʻo — Proper noun marker (before names)
• koʻu — "my" (possessive, o-class)
• inoa — "name"

Examples

• ʻO John koʻu inoa — "My name is John"
• ʻO wau ʻo Keoki — "I am George" (Keoki = Hawaiian for George)
• ʻO Mary koʻu inoa — "My name is Mary"

Pronunciation Notes

• ʻOkina (ʻ) = glottal stop (uh-oh pause). Essential.
• Kahakō (macron) = long vowel (not shown above but used in formal writing: koʻu inoa → koʻu ʻinoa? No—inoa has no kahakō).
• Vowels: a (ah), e (eh), i (ee), o (oh), u (oo).

Hawaiian language revitalization since the 1980s has made these phrases common in schools, ceremonies, and daily life across the islands.