Lailani
Feminine · Hawaiian roots · “heavenly garland”
Lailani is the Hawaiian name Leilani in a spelling that leans on the English eye — three open syllables, all vowels and soft consonants, ending in that -ee that keeps it moving. Leilani traveled off the islands and into mainland American ears through a 1937 song, and it has been rewritten a dozen ways since; this is one of the spellings that stuck.
How old is the name Lailani?
Lailani first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Lailani is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,600 people named Lailani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lailani most popular?
Lailani peaked in 2025, reaching #1069 nationally. Today it ranks #1069, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From lei + lani (Hawaiian) to Lailani
The story of Lailani
Leilani is a Hawaiian compound: lei, the garland and also a term of endearment for a beloved child, joined to lani, sky or heaven, a word that also carries the sense of royal. It reached the wider United States through the song "Sweet Leilani," written by Harry Owens and recorded by Bing Crosby for the 1937 film Waikiki Wedding, which won that year's Academy Award for best original song. From there the name spread far from the islands and picked up spellings that suited mainland ears — Leilani, Laylani, Leylani, Lailani among them. The Lailani form has been appearing in American birth records for decades now, most steadily in Texas, California and Florida.
Meaning
heavenly garland, royal child — from Hawaiian lei (garland, beloved child) and lani (sky, heaven, royal)
The meaning belongs to Leilani, of which Lailani is a respelling. The Lai- opening is not Hawaiian orthography; it reflects English spelling habits, and likely the pull of familiar names like Laila.
How the name formed
- lei + laniHawaiian
- Leilani
- Lailani
Related forms: Leilani · Laylani · Leylani · Lelani
Pronouncing Lailani
lay-LAH-nee
Stress on the middle syllable. The Hawaiian original is very close to this, with a light, quick first syllable. Some American families say lie-LAH-nee, following the ai spelling rather than the source.
Nicknames for Lailani
High
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
- 1972
- Most girls named
- 2025227 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1069reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +46.5%227 in 2025, from 155
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.
Lailani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leilani in Hawaiian — spelling variant
- Laylani in English — spelling variant
- Leylani in English — spelling variant
- Lelani in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Lailanis among us
people named Lailani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 7,080 born in 2025 was named Lailani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Lailani
- #1069
- Lailani on the 2025 chart
- #444
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Lailani went to 227 girls in 2025, but Laylani, Laylanii and Lailany and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 6 spellings went to 620, which makes it the 444th most-given girls’ name of the year — 625 places above the chart.
- Laylani353
- Lailani227
- Laylanii16
- Lailany12
- Lailanni6
- Laylanni6
About 1 girl in 2,592 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 7,080 for Lailani 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 Cleopatra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lailani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Cleopatra climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Cleopatra's path sketches the road Lailani is walking now.
Lailani 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 Lailani is headed
Lailani 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.
Lailani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lailani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The sound is already familiar to most Americans through Leilani, so it rarely needs to be repeated twice when spoken aloud.
- Lani works as a short form and also stands alone as a full given name.
- A clear documented meaning in Hawaiian — 'heavenly garland,' 'royal child' — that can be explained in one sentence.
- Recorded across the country for decades, with the deepest footing in Texas, California and Florida.
- This spelling competes with Leilani, which is far better known. Expect the default correction for life: people will hear it right and write it with an e.
- The -lani names cluster — Leilani, Kailani, Laylani, Alani — so she may be grouped by sound with girls who share none of her spelling, even while being the only Lailani in the room.
- It is a Hawaiian name in origin, and most of its American use happens far from Hawaii. Worth knowing the meaning well enough to say it plainly when asked.
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Lailani
Feminine · Hawaiian roots · #1069 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lailanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Lailani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Lailani?
- Lailani is one of 6 recorded spellings. Laylani is the more common one — 353 births in 2025 against 227 for Lailani.
- How popular is the name Lailani in 2025?
- Lailani ranks #1069 among US girl names in 2025, with 227 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lailani?
- About 1 in every 7,080 US girls born in 2025 was named Lailani — 227 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lailani with classmates?
- Lailani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lailani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Bailee#1069 · Harriet#1071 · Kara#1071 · Annelise#1071 · Aniya#1071 · Joyce#1071 · Casey#1065 · Chiara#1065
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lailani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lailani and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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