girl's name
Nalani
nah-LAH-nee
- Origin Hawaiian
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 8,173
the United States
#414
2025 births
Nalani is a girl's name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the heavens". It uses na, the plural article, with lani, sky — so it is literally the skies, and lani also carried a sense of chiefly rank.
- Nalani is a name of Hawaiian origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 754 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,397 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1946.
Nalani over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 15 |
| 1950s | 53 |
| 1960s | 59 |
| 1970s | 125 |
| 1980s | 157 |
| 1990s | 319 |
| 2000s | 1,199 |
| 2010s | 2,646 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,381 |
What Nalani means
Nalani means the heavens, plural. Hawaiian lani covers sky, heaven and the exalted, and the plural article na makes the name a statement about a scale rather than a single sky.
Where Nalani comes from
Nalani joins the Hawaiian plural article na to lani, sky or heaven — the same element in Leilani, Kailani and Kalani, and one of the most productive in Hawaiian naming. Lani extended to chiefly rank because the highest ali'i were understood as descended from the gods, so a lani name spoke of status as much as weather. Hawaiian names were traditionally composed for the individual rather than inherited, which makes new compounds from these elements a continuation of practice rather than a break from it. Nalani appears in our records from 1946.
Nalani in use
Nalani charts in only three of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Nalani?
In 2025, Nalani was given to 754 babies in the United States, ranking #414 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Nalani 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 Nalani
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nalani also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nalani over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Nalani
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.
Nalani 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 Nalani
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nalani — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nalani
What does the name Nalani mean?
The heavens, from the Hawaiian na, the plural article, and lani, sky.
What is the difference between Nalani and Kalani?
The article. Ka is singular and na is plural, so Kalani is the sky and Nalani the skies.
How do you pronounce Nalani?
nah-LAH-nee, with the stress on the middle syllable.
How popular is the name Nalani?
In 2025, Nalani was given to 754 babies in the United States, ranking #414 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Nalani a girl's or a boy's name?
Nalani is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Nalani most popular?
Nalani peaked in 2025, when 754 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Nalani?
Nalani is usually shortened to Lani.
Is Nalani a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nalani currently ranks #414 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.