girl's name
Nelani
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 209
Nelani is a girl's name. In 2025 it was given to 26 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
- Peaked in 2020, when 27 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 127,518 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 2009.
Nelani over time
Births per decade in the United States, 2000s 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 |
|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 |
| 2010s | 85 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 119 |
How popular is Nelani?
In 2025, Nelani was given to 26 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
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 Nelani
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nelani also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nelani over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Nelani
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nelani — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nelani
How popular is the name Nelani?
In 2025, Nelani was given to 26 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Is Nelani a girl's or a boy's name?
Nelani is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Nelani most popular?
Nelani peaked in 2020, when 27 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Nelani a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nelani currently ranks #5,003 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.