girl's name
Kailani
ky-LAH-nee
- Origin Hawaiian
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 13,020
the United States
#253
2025 births
Kailani is a girl's name built from genuine Hawaiian words, kai meaning sea and lani meaning sky or heaven. The elements are authentic but the compound is modern, and it is used far more outside Hawaii than within it.
- Kailani is a name of Hawaiian origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 1,358 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,729 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1980.
Kailani over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1980s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 59 |
| 1990s | 204 |
| 2000s | 1,158 |
| 2010s | 4,080 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,322 |
What Kailani means
Kailani joins sea to sky. Lani carries more than weather in Hawaiian — it also means heavenly and was used of chiefs, so the second element has a sense of the exalted that the English translation loses.
Where Kailani comes from
Kailani combines two of the most productive elements in Hawaiian naming. Kai is the sea, and appears in Kainoa, Kaimana and many others; lani is sky, heaven, and by extension royal or exalted, appearing in Leilani, Noelani and Kalani. Hawaiian names have historically been composed rather than inherited, often made for a particular child to record a circumstance, so building a new compound from existing elements is traditional practice rather than a departure from it. Kailani itself is recent, appearing in our records from 1980, and its growth has been driven by mainland American families rather than Hawaiian ones.
Kailani in use
Kailani charts in five of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2022, having first appeared in the records only in 1980.
How popular is Kailani?
In 2025, Kailani was given to 1,215 babies in the United States, ranking #253 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kailani is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Kailani is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Kaïlani | Kaïlani is a rare spelling of Kailani, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Kailani
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kailani also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kailani over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Kailani
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Kailani in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Kailani
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kailani — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kailani
What does the name Kailani mean?
Sea and sky, from the Hawaiian kai, sea, and lani, sky or heaven.
Is Kailani a real Hawaiian name?
The elements are genuine Hawaiian words and composing new names from them is traditional practice, but the compound Kailani itself is modern and used mostly outside Hawaii.
How do you pronounce Kailani?
ky-LAH-nee, with the first syllable rhyming with sky.
How popular is the name Kailani?
In 2025, Kailani was given to 1,215 babies in the United States, ranking #253 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Kailani a girl's or a boy's name?
Kailani is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Kailani most popular?
Kailani peaked in 2022, when 1,358 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Kailani?
Kailani is usually shortened to Kai and Lani.
Is Kailani a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kailani currently ranks #253 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.