Head to head · Girls' names
Kailani vs Lilly
#253 vs #252 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Lilly is a whisker ahead (#252 vs #253 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. 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, Lilly leads 5 measures of 6; Kailani 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: Kailani —, Lilly #216 — Lilly higher
- 1890s: Kailani —, Lilly #260 — Lilly higher
- 1900s: Kailani —, Lilly #288 — Lilly higher
- 1910s: Kailani —, Lilly #354 — Lilly higher
- 1920s: Kailani —, Lilly #392 — Lilly higher
- 1930s: Kailani —, Lilly #461 — Lilly higher
- 1940s: Kailani —, Lilly #612 — Lilly higher
- 1950s: Kailani —, Lilly #801 — Lilly higher
- 1960s: Kailani —, Lilly #1018 — Lilly higher
- 1970s: Kailani —, Lilly #1610 — Lilly higher
- 1980s: Kailani #8676, Lilly #1705 — Lilly higher
- 1990s: Kailani #5236, Lilly #1043 — Lilly higher
- 2000s: Kailani #1903, Lilly #233 — Lilly higher
- 2010s: Kailani #834, Lilly #135 — Lilly higher
- 2020s: Kailani #256, Lilly #241 — Lilly higher
Lilly stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kailani | Lilly |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #216 |
| 1890s | — | #260 |
| 1900s | — | #288 |
| 1910s | — | #354 |
| 1920s | — | #392 |
| 1930s | — | #461 |
| 1940s | — | #612 |
| 1950s | — | #801 |
| 1960s | — | #1018 |
| 1970s | — | #1610 |
| 1980s | #8676 | #1705 |
| 1990s | #5236 | #1043 |
| 2000s | #1903 | #233 |
| 2010s | #834 | #135 |
| 2020s | #256 | #241 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Kailani
Not charting outside the US.
Lilly
- Scotland#83
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Lilly
The lily flower
The word reached English as Latin lilium, which the Romans took from Greek leirion. Lilly also works as a short form of Elizabeth and of Lillian, so a child called Lilly may be arriving by either road — the flower or the abbreviation.
leirion → lilium → lilie → Lily → Lilly
How it traveled
The lily was a name for the flower in English long before it was a name for a person: Old English took lilie straight from Latin lilium. As a personal name it grew from two directions at once — as an affectionate clipping of Elizabeth and Lillian, in use for centuries, and as one of the flower names English speakers adopted with real enthusiasm in the nineteenth century, alongside Rose, Violet and Daisy.
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
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.
Lilly
LIL-ee
Stress on the first syllable. Lilly, Lily and Lillie all sound identical, so the spelling is the only thing that distinguishes them out loud.
- Lil — The standard informal clip, used within families and among friends; rarely a legal name on its own.
- Lils — Casual, mostly peer-to-peer and in text messages.
- Lilly-Bee — A household-only compound of the kind the L sound invites; not used outside the family.
- Lillian — Works in reverse — some families register the long form and use Lilly every day.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
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, Lilly 2
- a newer arrivalKailani entered the US charts in 1980
Choose Lilly if you want…
- a name holding steadyLilly is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesLilly is 2 syllables to Kailani's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooLilly is on the national lists of Scotland
- a long American recordLilly was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
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.
Lilly
Strengths
- Instantly readable and instantly pronounceable in English — nobody has to be taught how to say it.
- A long unbroken record on US charts, without ever having been the name everyone in the room had.
- Recognized across German, Scandinavian and other European naming traditions in almost this exact form.
To consider
- Lily is the more familiar spelling in the US, so Lilly will be written the other way on forms, name tags and greetings fairly often. Most families settle into correcting it once and letting the rest go.
- The sound is more common than this particular spelling. Lila, Lilah, Lillian and Lily all circulate, so a Lilly may share a playground with near-twins even while being the only Lilly.
- Lilly is also a well-known American surname and pharmaceutical company name, which occasionally comes up in adult professional settings — a passing remark rather than a real obstacle.
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 Kailani and Lilly 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 Kailani and Lilly?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Water names that flow
- Hawaiian names full of ocean light
- Names ending in -i
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- all guides
Where Kailani and Lilly each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kailani or Lilly — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kailani or Lilly?
- Lilly, in 2025: Lilly ranked #252 with 1,218 babies; Kailani ranked #253 with 1,215 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kailani or Lilly?
- Kailani. Over the last five years Kailani moved up 29 places; Lilly moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Kailani or Lilly?
- Kailani entered the US charts in 1980; Lilly was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Lilly is the older name.
- How many people are named Kailani and Lilly?
- About 12,500 people named Kailani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 55,500 people named Lilly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kailanis or Lillys in the classroom?
- Kailani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lilly 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Kailani, Lilly and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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