Kalani
Kalani was the 387th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 800 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 339th with 959 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 452 places. More babies were named Kalani in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning the heavens; the chief (Hawaiian) · Hawaiian
Say it kuh-LAH-nee /kəˈlɑni/
- Rank in 2025
- #387 girls, up 10 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 800girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2021959 babies
- Total since 1880
- 12,515babies recorded
What does the name Kalani mean?
Kalani is Hawaiian, from ka, "the", and lani, "sky, heaven". Andrews' Hawaiian dictionary (1922) gives lani as "the upper air, the sky, heaven" and also as a title for a high chief, equivalent to "your highness"; lani appears in many Hawaiian royal names. Wiktionary lists Kalani as a unisex Hawaiian given name. A separate Persian surname Kalani is unrelated.
ka (Hawaiian, “the”)lani (Hawaiian, “sky, heaven; high chief”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Lani, Leilani, Kailani.
See also: Hawaiian names, names that mean king or queen, names that mean sky, star, moon or sun.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kalani', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Lorrin Andrews, A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, rev. H. H. Parker (1922), s.v. 'Lani', Board of Commissioners of Public Archives, Honolulu (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Kalani
The usual nicknames for Kalani are Lani. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Kalani in the last five years, 12 were named Lani, against 115 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lani · also for Naylani, Leylani, Leilani | Modern | #1,603 | 522 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Kalanis go by each one.
Kalani popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #387 | #4,792 | 800 | 21 |
| 2020 | #397 | #2,819 | 784 | 43 |
| 2010 | #1,683 | #1,991 | 126 | 69 |
| 2000 | #2,293 | #1,982 | 68 | 52 |
| 1990 | #3,664 | #2,526 | 29 | 27 |
| 1980 | #4,830 | #2,324 | 15 | 22 |
| 1970 | #8,581 | — | 5 | — |
| 1960 | — | #4,329 | — | 5 |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Kalani, counting every spelling?
Kalani is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #364 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #387 for Kalani on its own. Together these spellings went to 905 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalani | 800 | #387 | 4,337 |
| Calani | 66 | #2,615 | 300 |
| Kalanie | 14 | #7,666 | 54 |
| Kalany | 16 | #6,974 | 50 |
| Kalanni | 9 | #10,485 | 41 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kalani?
800 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kalani (0.22 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kalani born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kalani.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kalani?
About 10,200 people born in the US named Kalani are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 12. That makes Kalani a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Kalani by state
How common Kalani was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (4.6×), Louisiana (3.7×), South Carolina (3.2×), Alabama (2.9×), Georgia (2.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oregon, Utah, Washington.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kalani: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kalani, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kalani · Sibling names for Kalani
Questions about the name Kalani
What does Kalani mean?
Kalani means “the heavens; the chief (Hawaiian)” (Hawaiian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kalani?
Kalani was the 387th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 800 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 339th with 959 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 452 places. More babies were named Kalani in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Kalani a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Kalani in the US.
Where is Kalani most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kalani was most common in Mississippi (2.48 per 1,000 girls), followed by Louisiana and South Carolina.