Head to head · Girls' names
Faith vs Kailani
#254 vs #253 in 2025
Kailani is a whisker ahead (#253 vs #254 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Kailani is holding its place on the charts, Faith is stepping back from its peak.
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
The tape is even: Faith and Kailani each lead 3 measures of 6.
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: Faith #766, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1890s: Faith #636, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1900s: Faith #671, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1910s: Faith #593, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1920s: Faith #479, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1930s: Faith #360, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1940s: Faith #340, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1950s: Faith #330, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1960s: Faith #357, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1970s: Faith #356, Kailani — — Faith higher
- 1980s: Faith #359, Kailani #8676 — Faith higher
- 1990s: Faith #189, Kailani #5236 — Faith higher
- 2000s: Faith #62, Kailani #1903 — Faith higher
- 2010s: Faith #94, Kailani #834 — Faith higher
- 2020s: Faith #204, Kailani #256 — Faith higher
Faith stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Faith | Kailani |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #766 | — |
| 1890s | #636 | — |
| 1900s | #671 | — |
| 1910s | #593 | — |
| 1920s | #479 | — |
| 1930s | #360 | — |
| 1940s | #340 | — |
| 1950s | #330 | — |
| 1960s | #357 | — |
| 1970s | #356 | — |
| 1980s | #359 | #8676 |
| 1990s | #189 | #5236 |
| 2000s | #62 | #1903 |
| 2010s | #94 | #834 |
| 2020s | #204 | #256 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Faith
faith, trust, belief
From Latin fides, 'trust', by way of Old French and Middle English.
Fides → Foy → feith → Faith
How it traveled
The word came into English from Old French feid, itself from Latin fides, 'trust'. In Roman religion Fides was the personified virtue of good faith, and the same root produced the name of Saint Faith — Sainte Foy — a martyr of Agen honored at the abbey of Conques, a major stop on the medieval pilgrim roads.
Kailani
sea and sky, from Hawaiian kai (sea) and lani (sky, heaven, also royal, chiefly)
The two elements are not in doubt. How they are joined in English is looser: you will see it rendered as "sea and sky," "heavenly sea" and "sea of heaven," all fair readings of the same compound, since Hawaiian names are often meant to hold more than one sense at once.
kai (Hawaiian, sea) → lani (Hawaiian, sky, heaven) → Kailani
How it traveled
Hawaiian naming has long worked by composition — an inoa can be made new from meaningful words rather than inherited from a list, which is why kai and lani recombine so freely across generations. Hawaiian names traveled to the mainland US in the twentieth century largely through music and film; "Sweet Leilani," written by Harry Owens and recorded by Bing Crosby in the 1930s, carried the lani element into American ears well before Kailani itself appeared in national records.
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
Faith
FAYTH
One syllable, exactly as the English word. The same across American and British English, and it survives being said quickly.
- Faye — Informal short form, though it also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Faithy — Affectionate family form, mostly used with young children.
- Fifi — Playful household nickname; rare, and almost never used outside the family.
Kailani
kye-LAH-nee
In Hawaiian, the vowel pair ai says "eye," so the first syllable rhymes with sky. Many American speakers default to kay-LAH-nee instead, which is why the Kaylani spelling exists; both are heard on the mainland.
- Kai — The most common short form; also a full given name in its own right in the US, used for boys and girls alike.
- Lani — Stands alone as a Hawaiian given name as well as a short form; informal in everyday use.
- Kay — An English-style clipping, more likely from adults than from classmates.
- Kiki — A playful family-level nickname rather than one anyone would use on a form.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Faith if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsFaith is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesFaith is 1 syllable to Kailani's 3
- a long American recordFaith was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that feels very nowFaith is stepping back from its peak
Choose Kailani if you want…
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itKailani runs 3 syllables, Faith 1
- a newer arrivalKailani entered the US charts in 1980
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 75% for Faith
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
Faith
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation follow each other perfectly — anyone who hears it can write it, and anyone who reads it can say it.
- In continuous English use since the Reformation era, so it has never needed a revival to sound normal.
- The same Latin root gives Fe in Spanish and Portuguese, widely used in Spain, Latin America and the Philippines.
To consider
- It is also a common English word, and in most American contexts a religious one. Some people will read it as a statement about the family's beliefs, which may or may not be what you want.
- Very short, with no long formal version to grow into and no real nickname to retreat to — a Faith is Faith at three and at fifty.
- Its bearers cluster heavily in one young-adult generation, so among adults it can read as belonging to a particular cohort, even while it is uncommon in classrooms now.
Kailani
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent in a living language — kai and lani are ordinary Hawaiian words, not a reconstructed guess.
- Two ready-made short forms, Kai and Lani, that both work as standalone names on their own.
- Sits inside a familiar family of names — Leilani, Kalani, Lani — so it is recognizable even where it is rare.
To consider
- The first syllable is genuinely ambiguous to American ears: kye or kay. Expect to correct it, gently and often, for life.
- Competing spellings — Kaylani, Kylani — mean the name will sometimes be written back to you the other way after you have said it aloud.
- This is a Hawaiian name with a real cultural home. Away from the islands it is worth being able to say where it comes from and what it means, which is a small thing to carry and an easy one.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Faith
75%chance Faith feels dated by 2040
Faith is coming down from a big peak (#48 in 2002). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Kailani
40%chance Kailani feels dated by 2040
Kailani sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Faith and Kailani 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
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- all guides
Where Faith and Kailani each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Faith or Kailani — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Faith or Kailani?
- Kailani, in 2025: Kailani ranked #253 with 1,215 babies; Faith ranked #254 with 1,212 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Faith or Kailani?
- Kailani. Over the last five years Faith moved down 120 places; Kailani moved up 29 places.
- Which is the older name, Faith or Kailani?
- Faith was already in use when US records began in 1880; Kailani entered the US charts in 1980. On the American record, Faith is the older name.
- How many people are named Faith and Kailani?
- About 137,000 people named Faith are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,500 people named Kailani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Faiths or Kailanis in the classroom?
- Faith will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kailani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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