Kelani
Feminine · “the heavens”
Kelani is given to both — 1,708 girls and 66 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Kelani is Hawaiian for the heavens — ke lani, the sky — and lani is one of the most productive words in the whole Hawaiian naming vocabulary.
How old is the name Kelani?
Kelani first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Kelani is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,700 people named Kelani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kelani most popular?
Kelani peaked in 2020, reaching #1246 nationally. Today it ranks #1540, 294 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Kelani appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From ke lani to Kelani
The story of Kelani
Lani appears in a very large number of Hawaiian names — Leilani, Kailani, Noelani, Alani — because sky and royalty share the word. Hawaiian names entered general American use from the 1970s and accelerated sharply in the 2010s. Kelani appears in the American registers in that decade and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
the heavens, the sky
From the Hawaiian ke, the definite article, and lani, 'sky', 'heaven' or 'royal' — lani also carries a sense of chiefly rank. The compound is transparent to speakers. A second route treats Kelani as an American respelling of Kailani or of Delaney; both are in circulation.
How the name formed
- ke lani
- Kelani
Related forms: Kelani · Kailani · Leilani
Pronouncing Kelani
keh-LAH-nee
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hawaiian gives every vowel a full value with no reduction.
Nicknames for Kelani
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
- 1976
- Most girls named
- 2020182 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1246reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −18.5%137 in 2025, from 168
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.
Kelani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kelani in Hawaiian — same name
- Kailani in Hawaiian — related form
- Leilani in Hawaiian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, Texas, Georgia.
Kelanis among us
people named Kelani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 11,732 born in 2025 was named Kelani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kelani
- #1540
- Kelani on the 2025 chart
- #716
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kelani went to 137 girls in 2025, but Khelani, Kelanii and Kelany and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 6 spellings went to 246, which makes it the 716th most-given girls’ name of the year — 824 places above the chart.
- Kelani137
- Khelani79
- Kelanii8
- Kelany8
- Khelany8
- Keelani6
About 1 girl in 6,534 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 11,732 for Kelani itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Dominica test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kelani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dominica climbed just as high around 1916, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dominica's path sketches the road Kelani is walking now.
Kelani 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 Kelani is headed
Kelani 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.
Kelani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kelani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The heavens meaning is concrete and transparent to Hawaiian speakers.
- Lani is available as a short form that is a complete Hawaiian name.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The origin is somewhat split between Hawaiian and an American respelling.
- Kailani and Leilani are close enough to cause confusion.
- It is very new in American records.
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What they receive
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Kelani
Feminine · #1540 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kelanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Kelani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kelani?
- Kelani is the most-used spelling in US records — 137 of the 246 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Khelani, Kelanii, Kelany, Khelany and Keelani.
- How popular is the name Kelani in 2025?
- Kelani ranks #1540 among US girl names in 2025, with 137 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kelani?
- About 1 in every 11,732 US girls born in 2025 was named Kelani — 137 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kelani with classmates?
- Kelani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kelani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Cecily#1540 · Milagros#1540 · Laya#1540 · Malak#1540 · Aarna#1540 · Riya#1540 · Zylah#1540 · Renesmee#1534
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kelani? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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