Lei
Feminine · “garland”
Lei is given to both — 652 girls and 31 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Lei is a Hawaiian word that most Americans already know without knowing they know it. A lei is the garland given in greeting and in farewell, and the word covers any strung or braided circle of flowers, leaves, shells or feathers. It is also a name — in Hawaii on its own and as the ending of longer ones — and, separately, a common Chinese name that is said quite differently.
How old is the name Lei?
Lei first appears in US birth records in 1937 — 88 years ago. The typical Lei alive today was born around 1967, making them about 58 years old. About 600 people named Lei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lei most popular?
Lei peaked in 1956, reaching #2321 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 12,621 places below that high. See the whole 1956 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Lei
Hawaiian naming builds long names out of meaningful pieces, and lei is one of the most-used of them, appearing at the front, in the middle and at the end. Giving a lei marks arrival, departure, achievement and affection, so the word carries an entire social practice rather than just an object. American use of the bare word as a name dates from the twentieth century, when Hawaii became widely visible on the mainland. The Chinese Lei arrived independently and much earlier, through immigration, and the two have shared a spelling in American records without ever sharing a sound.
Meaning
garland; wreath
In Hawaiian, lei is the ordinary word for a garland worn around the neck or head, and it appears in dozens of compound names — Leilani, Leimomi, Kalei — where it carries its full sense. The meaning is not in any doubt. The Chinese names written Lei in English are a separate matter: several different characters romanize the same way, meaning thunder, a flower bud, or a heap of stones, and the tones that distinguish them do not survive into English.
Pronouncing Lei
LAY
LAY, one syllable, rhyming with day — Hawaiian says the vowels together as a single glide. The Chinese Lei is a different sound entirely, closer to LAY with a rising tone that English does not carry. English readers sometimes try LEE, which belongs to neither language.
Nicknames for Lei
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
- 1937
- Most girls named
- 196025 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2321reached in 1956
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%5 in 2025, from 5
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.
Lei in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lei in Hawaiian — same name
- Leilani in Hawaiian — related form
- 雷 in Chinese — transliteration
Leis among us
people named Lei are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Lei
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 Sonna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lei's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sonna climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sonna's path sketches the road Lei is walking now.
Lei 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
Lei beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lei in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and one syllable, and the meaning is one most Americans already recognize.
- It works for either child, and neither Hawaiian nor Chinese assigns it a sex.
- Leilani is available as a longer formal version without leaving the language.
- English readers regularly say LEE rather than LAY, and the spelling gives them no reason not to.
- A very short name gets lost on forms and in filing systems, and it will be assumed to be an abbreviation.
- Two unrelated traditions share this spelling, so the name says different things depending on who is reading it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Lei
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Lei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lei in 2025?
- Lei ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lei?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Lei — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lei with classmates?
- Lei will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lei
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lei? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lei and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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