Jelani
Masculine · “mighty”
Jelani is given to both — 4,718 boys and 942 girls since 1880. See Jelani as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Jelani is usually given as Swahili for mighty, and the sound also carries the Arabic Jilani, from a place in Iran.
How old is the name Jelani?
Jelani first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Jelani alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 4,600 people named Jelani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jelani most popular?
Jelani peaked in 1998, reaching #931 nationally. Today it ranks #2145, 1,214 places below that high. See the whole 1998 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From al-Jilani to Jelani
The story of Jelani
Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani founded the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest and most widespread Sufi orders, and his epithet names a Caspian province of Iran; the name traveled with the order into West and East Africa. The Swahili 'mighty' attribution is common in American name books and less well attested. Jelani is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
mighty; of Gilan
Commonly given as Swahili for 'mighty' or 'powerful', an attribution widely repeated but weakly sourced. A better-documented route is the Arabic al-Jilani, 'of Gilan', a province of Iran — the epithet of Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, founder of a major Sufi order. Neither is settled for American use.
How the name formed
- al-Jilani
- Jelani
Related forms: الجيلاني · Jilani · Jelani
Pronouncing Jelani
jeh-LAH-nee
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Arabic Jilani is jee-LAH-nee.
Nicknames for Jelani
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 1998151 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #931reached in 1998
- Change vs 2024
- −28.7%67 in 2025, from 94
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jelani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- الجيلاني in Arabic — related form
- Jilani in English — spelling variant
- Jelani in Swahili — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Georgia, Florida.
Jelanis among us
people named Jelani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 25,494 born in 2025 was named Jelani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kazuo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jelani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kazuo climbed just as high around 1921, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kazuo's path sketches the road Jelani is walking now.
Jelani 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jelani is headed
Jelani should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jelani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jelani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The founder of one of the great Sufi orders stands behind the Arabic route.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- Lani is available as a short form with real use.
- The Swahili 'mighty' reading is widely repeated but poorly sourced.
- The two candidate origins are unrelated.
- Jelani and Jilani are both in circulation.
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What they receive
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Jelani
Masculine · #2145 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jelanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,600 people named Jelani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jelani in 2025?
- Jelani ranks #2145 among US boy names in 2025, with 67 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jelani?
- About 1 in every 25,494 US boys born in 2025 was named Jelani — 67 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jelani with classmates?
- Jelani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jelani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Shayan#2145 · Wendell#2145 · Hosea#2145 · Banner#2145 · Musab#2145 · Alastair#2145 · Jahsir#2145 · Adair#2145
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jelani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jelani and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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