Leilany
Feminine · Hawaiian roots · “heavenly flowers”
Leilany is the Hawaiian name Leilani written with a final y — lei, the flower garland, joined to lani, the sky. The sound has been traveling the mainland since a Hawaiian waltz called "Sweet Leilani" won an Academy Award in the 1930s and Bing Crosby's recording carried it into living rooms far from the islands. This spelling is a newer arrival, most at home in Texas, California and Florida.
How old is the name Leilany?
Leilany first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Leilany is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,900 people named Leilany are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leilany most popular?
Leilany peaked in 2025, reaching #694 nationally. Today it ranks #694, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Leilany appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From lei + lani (Hawaiian) to Leilany
The story of Leilany
The name is Hawaiian, built from two ordinary and much-used words of the language, lei and lani, that appear in dozens of Hawaiian names. Leilani reached the wider United States largely through music and film in the twentieth century, most famously the song "Sweet Leilani," written by Harry Owens and recorded by Bing Crosby, which took the Academy Award for best original song in the 1930s. From there it spread far beyond Hawaii as a name chosen for its sound. The Leilany spelling belongs to that later, mainland chapter, and is strongest in states with large Spanish-speaking populations, where a final y regularly does the work of a final i.
Meaning
heavenly flowers, or royal child
From Hawaiian lei, a garland or wreath of flowers, and lani, sky, heaven, or royalty. Read together the sense is a heavenly lei — and by extension a royal or beloved child. Leilany is a respelling and carries the same meaning as Leilani.
How the name formed
- lei + laniHawaiian
- Leilani
- Leilany
Related forms: Leilani · Leilanie · Leylani · Laylani
Pronouncing Leilany
lay-LAH-nee
The final y is pronounced ee, exactly as the i in Leilani. Both English and Spanish speakers land on the same four syllables, with the stress on LAH. Some English speakers begin with a lie- sound instead; lay- follows the Hawaiian.
Nicknames for Leilany
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
- 1989
- Most girls named
- 2022417 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #694reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +1.8%407 in 2025, from 400
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.
Leilany in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leilani in Hawaiian — same name
- Leilanie in English — spelling variant
- Leylani in Spanish (US) — spelling variant
- Laylani in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Leilanys among us
people named Leilany are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,949 born in 2025 was named Leilany
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Leilany
- #694
- Leilany on the 2025 chart
- #54
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Leilany went to 407 girls in 2025, but Leilani, 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 — 640 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 3,949 for Leilany 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 Ryann test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leilany's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ryann climbed just as high around 2006, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ryann's path sketches the road Leilany is walking now.
Leilany 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 Leilany is headed
Leilany looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
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.
Leilany beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leilany 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 widely familiar through Leilani, so most people can repeat it correctly after hearing it once.
- Reads the same way in English and Spanish, since a final y and a final i both give the ee sound.
- Comes with short forms that already stand alone as names — Lani, Leila — so there is room to grow into or out of.
- Rare enough in this spelling that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- The standard spelling is Leilani, and that is what people will default to in writing. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections on forms, name tags and email addresses.
- Lei and lani are living words in the Hawaiian language, not decorative syllables. Some families like knowing that; others prefer not to respell a word from a language they do not speak.
- This spelling's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is still a child. That means no adult namesakes to point to yet, but also that it will sound of its generation for a long while.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Leilany to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Leilany? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Leilany
Feminine · Hawaiian roots · #694 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leilanys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,900 people named Leilany are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Leilany?
- Leilany is one of 4 recorded spellings. Leilani is the more common one — 3,792 births in 2025 against 407 for Leilany.
- How popular is the name Leilany in 2025?
- Leilany ranks #694 among US girl names in 2025, with 407 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leilany?
- About 1 in every 3,949 US girls born in 2025 was named Leilany — 407 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leilany with classmates?
- Leilany will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leilany
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emmie#694 · Romy#694 · Louisa#694 · Rowyn#694 · Baylor#694 · Lara#691 · Billie#691 · Kinley#691
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leilany? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leilany and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle