unisex name
Kalani
kah-LAH-nee
- Origin Hawaiian
- Gender Unisex
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 12,888
the United States
#387
2025 births
Kalani is a unisex name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the heavens" or "the royal one". It joins the article ka to lani, sky, and lani carried a sense of chiefly rank as well as sky, so the two readings are one idea.
- Kalani is a name of Hawaiian origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 1,003 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,038 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Kalani started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1959.
Kalani over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 57 |
| 1970s | 224 |
| 1980s | 378 |
| 1990s | 675 |
| 2000s | 1,802 |
| 2010s | 4,039 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,335 |
What Kalani means
Kalani means the sky, and by the same word the exalted or royal. In Hawaiian lani covered both the heavens and the highest-ranking chiefs, so translating it as heavenly or as royal is not choosing between two meanings.
Where Kalani comes from
Kalani combines the Hawaiian definite article ka with lani, sky or heaven. Lani is one of the most productive elements in Hawaiian naming and appears in Leilani, Noelani and Kailani; its extension to chiefly rank reflects a society in which the highest ali'i were understood as descended from the gods, so calling someone lani said something about status rather than weather. Hawaiian names were traditionally composed for an individual rather than inherited, which makes compounds like this the norm. Kalani appears in our records from 1959 and is used for both girls and boys.
Kalani in use
Kalani charts in only three of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2021.
How popular is Kalani?
In 2025, Kalani was given to 821 babies in the United States, ranking #387 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kalani 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.
Names that peaked alongside Kalani
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kalani also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kalani over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Kalani
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.
Kalani 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 Kalani
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kalani — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kalani
What does the name Kalani mean?
The heavens, from the Hawaiian ka, the, and lani, sky — a word that also meant royal or exalted.
Is Kalani a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. Hawaiian names are frequently used across genders.
What is the difference between Kalani and Kailani?
Kalani is the sky with the article; Kailani joins kai, sea, to lani, sky.
How popular is the name Kalani?
In 2025, Kalani was given to 821 babies in the United States, ranking #387 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
When was Kalani most popular?
Kalani peaked in 2021, when 1,003 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Kalani?
Kalani is usually shortened to Lani and Kal.
Is Kalani a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kalani currently ranks #387 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.