Leilani
Feminine · “Heavenly flowers”
Leilani is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 56,466 girls against 25 boys since 1880.
Leilani is Hawaiian, made from two of the most-used words in the language: lei, the strung garland of flowers, and lani, the sky. It has been on mainland American records since the early twentieth century, and unlike most names that old it is rising rather than settling. Four open syllables, no silent letters, every vowel sounded.
How old is the name Leilani?
Leilani first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Leilani is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 55,000 people named Leilani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leilani most popular?
Leilani peaked in 2022, reaching #59 nationally. Today it ranks #60, 1 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Leilani
The name belongs to the Hawaiian language, where lani appears in a great many names and titles and lei in as many more, so Leilani sits inside a large and living naming tradition rather than standing alone. It reached the continental United States in the early twentieth century, in the decades when Hawaiian music, hula troupes and the steel guitar were touring mainland theaters and Hawaii itself was a US territory; statehood followed in 1959. Since then it has been taken up widely off the islands, including by English- and Spanish-speaking families, and its recent growth has come from that broader use rather than from any single revival.
Meaning
Heavenly flowers, or royal child
Both readings come from the same two words. Lei is a garland or wreath of flowers, and by affection a beloved child; lani means sky or heaven, and also royal or chiefly. So the name is read as 'heavenly lei' and as 'royal child' depending on which sense of each word is carried forward. Hawaiian speakers use both, and neither is a correction of the other.
Pronouncing Leilani
lay-LAH-nee
Stress falls on the second syllable. The Hawaiian 'ei' is the vowel of 'day', not 'ee', so the first syllable is 'lay' rather than 'lee' — the most frequent slip is LEE-lah-nee. Every vowel is pronounced; nothing is swallowed.
Nicknames for Leilani
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
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 20253,792 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #59reached in 2022
- Change vs 2023
- +6.5%3,792 in 2025, from 3,562
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.
Leilani in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leilani in Hawaiian — same name
- Lani in Hawaiian — related form
- Leilany in Spanish (US usage) — spelling variant
- Leylani in Spanish (US usage) — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Leilanis among us
people named Leilani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 424 born in 2025 was named Leilani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Leilani
- #60
- Leilani on the 2025 chart
- #54
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Leilani went to 3,792 girls in 2025, but Leilany, Leylani and Leilanni are the same name said out loud. Together the 8 spellings went to 4,540, which makes it the 54th most-given girls’ name of the year — 6 places above the chart.
and 4 rarer spellings.
About 1 girl in 354 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 424 for Leilani 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 Ellen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leilani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ellen climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ellen's path sketches the road Leilani is walking now.
Leilani is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Leilani is headed
Leilani should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Leilani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leilani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent to Hawaiian speakers rather than reconstructed from guesswork — lei and lani are both everyday words.
- Spelled the way it sounds once the 'ei' is known, with no silent letters and no competing standard spelling.
- Two established short forms, Lani and Lei, both of which also work as names on their own.
- Over a century of continuous use on mainland records, and comfortable in both English- and Spanish-speaking households.
- The 'ei' trips people. Expect LEE-lah-nee from strangers and a lifetime of gently correcting it, plus Leilany, Leylani and Lelani turning up in spelling.
- It is a Hawaiian name with real cultural weight behind it, and some Native Hawaiian families feel strongly about its use off the islands. Worth knowing you're carrying that, whatever you decide.
- The name is on the way up, not the way down, so a child born now will likely meet more Leilanis in later school years than the current picture suggests.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Leilani
Feminine · #60 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leilanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 55,000 people named Leilani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Leilani?
- Leilani is the most-used spelling in US records — 3,792 of the 4,540 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Leilany, Leylani and Leilanni.
- How popular is the name Leilani in 2025?
- Leilani ranks #60 among US girl names in 2025, with 3,792 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Leilani?
- About 1 in every 424 US girls born in 2025 was named Leilani — 3,792 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leilani with classmates?
- Leilani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leilani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Adeline#59 · Iris#61 · Leah#58 · Maya#62 · Lillian#57 · Clara#63 · Hannah#56 · Ruby#64
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leilani? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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