Head to head · Girls' names
Adeline vs Leilani
#59 vs #60 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Adeline is a whisker ahead (#59 vs #60 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Adeline leads 5 measures of 6; Leilani leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Adeline #195, Leilani — — Adeline higher
- 1890s: Adeline #204, Leilani — — Adeline higher
- 1900s: Adeline #189, Leilani — — Adeline higher
- 1910s: Adeline #170, Leilani #4423 — Adeline higher
- 1920s: Adeline #205, Leilani #3736 — Adeline higher
- 1930s: Adeline #358, Leilani #2295 — Adeline higher
- 1940s: Adeline #610, Leilani #892 — Adeline higher
- 1950s: Adeline #1053, Leilani #1198 — Adeline higher
- 1960s: Adeline #1612, Leilani #1068 — Leilani higher
- 1970s: Adeline #2381, Leilani #984 — Leilani higher
- 1980s: Adeline #2178, Leilani #960 — Leilani higher
- 1990s: Adeline #1552, Leilani #949 — Leilani higher
- 2000s: Adeline #561, Leilani #359 — Leilani higher
- 2010s: Adeline #173, Leilani #188 — Adeline higher
- 2020s: Adeline #79, Leilani #68 — Leilani higher
Adeline stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Leilani took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adeline | Leilani |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #195 | — |
| 1890s | #204 | — |
| 1900s | #189 | — |
| 1910s | #170 | #4423 |
| 1920s | #205 | #3736 |
| 1930s | #358 | #2295 |
| 1940s | #610 | #892 |
| 1950s | #1053 | #1198 |
| 1960s | #1612 | #1068 |
| 1970s | #2381 | #984 |
| 1980s | #2178 | #960 |
| 1990s | #1552 | #949 |
| 2000s | #561 | #359 |
| 2010s | #173 | #188 |
| 2020s | #79 | #68 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Adeline
- Canada#86
Leilani
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Adeline
Noble
From the Germanic element adal, "noble", the same root behind Adele, Adelaide and Alice. Adeline is the French diminutive form of that root — roughly "little noble one".
adal (Germanic element, "noble") → Adela → Adèle → Adeline
How it traveled
The root is Frankish and Germanic: adal, noble, an element that fed dozens of early medieval names. Old French turned Adele into the affectionate Adeline, and Norman speakers carried it across the Channel after 1066, where it settled into English records alongside its cousins Adela and Adelaide.
Leilani
Heavenly flowers, or royal child
Both readings come from the same two words. Lei is a garland or wreath of flowers, and by affection a beloved child; lani means sky or heaven, and also royal or chiefly. So the name is read as 'heavenly lei' and as 'royal child' depending on which sense of each word is carried forward. Hawaiian speakers use both, and neither is a correction of the other.
How it traveled
The name belongs to the Hawaiian language, where lani appears in a great many names and titles and lei in as many more, so Leilani sits inside a large and living naming tradition rather than standing alone. It reached the continental United States in the early twentieth century, in the decades when Hawaiian music, hula troupes and the steel guitar were touring mainland theaters and Hawaii itself was a US territory; statehood followed in 1959.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Adeline
AD-uh-line
AD-uh-line, rhyming with "line", is the usual American reading. AD-uh-leen is also common and is closer to the French. Both are correct; you will simply be choosing one and repeating it.
- Addie — The standard informal short form in American use for well over a century; also given on its own, and shared with Addison and Adelaide.
- Ada — Long established as a full given name in its own right, and used as a short form here.
- Lina — Takes the back half of the name; stands alone as a given name in Italian, German and Arabic-speaking families.
- Della — An older short form, historically tied to Adeline and Adela; independently used as a given name among earlier generations.
- Also Adie.
Leilani
lay-LAH-nee
Stress falls on the second syllable. The Hawaiian 'ei' is the vowel of 'day', not 'ee', so the first syllable is 'lay' rather than 'lee' — the most frequent slip is LEE-lah-nee. Every vowel is pronounced; nothing is swallowed.
- Lani — The most common short form, and a full given name in Hawaiian in its own right.
- Lei — Informal, used within families; also stands alone as a Hawaiian name.
- Leila — Occasionally used as a short form in English-speaking families, though Leila is separately an established name of Arabic and Persian origin.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Adeline if you want…
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Addie, Ada and Lina
- a name that charts abroad tooAdeline is on the national lists of Canada
- a long American recordAdeline was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Leilani if you want…
- a newer arrivalLeilani entered the US charts in 1917
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Adeline
Strengths
- Short forms are already in place and need no explaining — Addie, Ada, Lina, Della — so the name flexes from formal to casual without effort.
- A documented line running from medieval French through nineteenth-century revival to the present, unbroken in English-language records.
- Recognizable in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese in nearly the same shape, and charting in Canada as well as the US.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate, -line and -leen, so expect to correct people occasionally for life. Choosing early and saying it consistently does most of the work.
- It sits in a crowded field: Adalyn, Adelyn, Adaline, Adelaide and Madeline all sound close, and forms get confused on paperwork.
- The name is rising quickly. It is uncommon in a classroom now, but a child born this year may meet more of them than the current picture suggests.
Leilani
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent to Hawaiian speakers rather than reconstructed from guesswork — lei and lani are both everyday words.
- Spelled the way it sounds once the 'ei' is known, with no silent letters and no competing standard spelling.
- Two established short forms, Lani and Lei, both of which also work as names on their own.
To consider
- The 'ei' trips people. Expect LEE-lah-nee from strangers and a lifetime of gently correcting it, plus Leilany, Leylani and Lelani turning up in spelling.
- It is a Hawaiian name with real cultural weight behind it, and some Native Hawaiian families feel strongly about its use off the islands. Worth knowing you're carrying that, whatever you decide.
- The name is on the way up, not the way down, so a child born now will likely meet more Leilanis in later school years than the current picture suggests.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Adeline and Leilani in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Adeline and Leilani?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Three-syllable names with room to move
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- all guides
Every list here names both Adeline and Leilani — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adeline or Leilani — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adeline or Leilani?
- Adeline, in 2025: Adeline ranked #59 with 3,864 babies; Leilani ranked #60 with 3,792 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adeline or Leilani?
- Adeline. Over the last five years Adeline moved up 40 places; Leilani moved up 32 places.
- Which is the older name, Adeline or Leilani?
- Adeline was already in use when US records began in 1880; Leilani entered the US charts in 1917. On the American record, Adeline is the older name.
- How many people are named Adeline and Leilani?
- About 53,000 people named Adeline are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 55,000 people named Leilani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adelines or Leilanis in the classroom?
- Adeline will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leilani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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