One of my favorite things about blogging is having friends and family far away be a part of our lives through seeing what is going on with the day-to-day stuff. We've had old friends come across our blog several times. It is great to be in touch again. So - for the sake of old friends here are the names of our three boys with meanings and pronunciations (then the above pictures will hopefully make a little more sense).
Each boy has a Hawaiian first name and a Navajo middle name. We decided to stick with the trend, though it has become increasingly harder to find a Navajo name the more kids we have (We do have a name for a girl, if could ever have one!)
Our oldest is:
Kekoanui Naat'aanii Reyes
KOA means courage and the KE before it makes it a person so KEKOA is "The Courageous One." The NUI on the end adds more to the name with it meaning "Great, or Mighty"
So he is the "Mighty Courageous One."
pronuncitation: keh-ko-ah-noo-ee
By the way, that is why Kekoa has the lion face - courage.
Naat'aanii is Navajo for "Leader."
Pronunciation: nah-ton-ee (the "t" is like an emphasized "t" in hat).
The apostrophe is for the Navajo pronunciation called a glottal stop, which I could pronounce all day, but never be able to describe in words. Call me if you are dying of curiosity and want to hear what it sounds like.
Our second is:
Ikaikaokalani Kiiyaa'aanii Reyes
When I first heard the meaning of Ikaika's name I knew I had to have a son with this name.
IKAIKA is Hawaiian for "Warrior", the OKA is "of", and LANI means "heaven"
So he is our little "Warrior of Heaven." I love the power behind that name.
Pronunciation: ee-ky-ka-o-ka-la-nee
Kiyaa'aanii is the name of the Navajo maternal clan he carries. The protector of the kiyaa'aanii is the bear (thus the picture of Ikaika).
Pronunciation: key-ya-on-nee
I already posted the name and meaning of Sepa in a previous post, but here's how to say it.
Iosepa: ee-yo-sep-ah
Ya'ashdee' is Navajo for "From Heaven"
Pronunciation: yah-aash-deh (this name is heavily accented with Navajo - I have no idea how to write it phonetically, but that's my best shot).
Well, we love our boys and hope that the names we have chosen for them will be a source of strength and direction for them.
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2 comments:
Is that a book the boys have in the pictures? It's cute.
I love names and the meaning of names. And your boys have really great names. Thanks for sharing.
{jeane}
yes, it is this cute, cute book called "In the Jungle".
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