Ulani
Feminine
Ulani ends in the most loved element in Hawaiian naming — lani, the sky, the heavens, and by extension whatever is royal or exalted. That half of the name is entirely real. The half in front of it is where the honest account gets shorter.
How old is the name Ulani?
Ulani first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Ulani is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Ulani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ulani most popular?
Ulani peaked in 2023, reaching #2288 nationally. Today it ranks #2719, 431 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ulani
Our story of Ulani begins with lani, because that is the part with a history. In Hawaiian it is the sky, and it is also the word for what is exalted — a chief could be addressed with it, and a name ending in lani carries that weight on purpose. Names built with it are not decorative; they are among the oldest and most carefully given in the language. Ulani takes that ending and sets a new opening in front of it, which is what has happened to lani many times over on the mainland. This is not a Hawaiian name with a lost meaning. It is an American name wearing a Hawaiian ending, and the ending is worth knowing properly either way.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Lani is a genuine and central Hawaiian word: sky, heaven, and a term of high respect used for chiefs. It closes dozens of real Hawaiian names — Leilani, Kalani, Noelani, Aulani. Ulani as a whole word is not a documented entry in Hawaiian dictionaries, and the gloss 'cheerful' that circulates on naming sites has no source behind it. The honest position is that the ending is Hawaiian and the whole is not recorded.
Pronouncing Ulani
oo-LAH-nee
Three syllables. Hawaiian vowels are pure — oo, ah, ee — and the stress falls on the second syllable, as it does in Leilani. American English often says yoo-LAH-nee, putting an English y at the front that Hawaiian does not have.
Nicknames for Ulani
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
- 1998
- Most girls named
- 202380 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2288reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −10.0%63 in 2025, from 70
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.
Ulani in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Georgia, California.
Ulanis among us
people named Ulani are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 25,512 born in 2025 was named Ulani
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Ulani
- #2719
- Ulani on the 2025 chart
- #886
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Ulani went to 63 girls in 2025, but Ulanni is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 74, which makes it the 886th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,833 places above the chart.
- Ulani63
- Ulanni11
About 1 girl in 21,720 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 25,512 for Ulani 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 Kasia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ulani's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kasia climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kasia's path sketches the road Ulani is walking now.
Ulani 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 Ulani is headed
Ulani looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 35% 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.
Ulani beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ulani in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Every sound is easy in English, and the spelling is read correctly on sight.
- It ends in a real and much-loved Hawaiian element rather than an invented one.
- Lani is a natural short form and a complete name by itself.
- The circulated meaning 'cheerful' is not documented and should not be relied on.
- Names built from Hawaiian elements outside Hawaii are read differently by different people, and some Hawaiian families feel strongly about it — worth knowing before rather than after.
- Ulani, Ulanni and Yulani are all possible spellings of the same sound.
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What they receive
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Ulani
Feminine · #2719 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ulanis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Ulani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Ulani?
- Ulani is the most-used spelling in US records — 63 of the 74 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Ulanni.
- How popular is the name Ulani in 2025?
- Ulani ranks #2719 among US girl names in 2025, with 63 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ulani?
- About 1 in every 25,512 US girls born in 2025 was named Ulani — 63 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ulani with classmates?
- Ulani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ulani
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ryver#2719 · Kaliana#2719 · Morrigan#2719 · Asher#2719 · Aditi#2719 · Carley#2719 · Betsy#2719 · Emy#2719
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ulani? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ulani and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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