Name Awesome

Kalani

#387 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

The heavens

Kalani has been given to 12,515 babies in the U.S. since 1963. In 2025 it ranked #387 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2021, with 959 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 82% girls, 18% boys all-time.

Babies named Kalani, 2025

1 in 4,140

Kalani over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02505007501K18801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kalani over time

In 2025, Kalani went to 97% girls and 3% boys.

19592025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kalani: meaning, origin, and history

The heavens

Hawaiian

What Kalani means

Kalani means “the heavens”.

Origin, language, and formation

Kalani is used in English and Hawaiian. Its origins include Hawaiian.

Kalani comes through Hawaiian Kalani.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Kalani is pronounced /kəˈlɑːni/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 10,278 girls were recorded with the name Kalani between 1963 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 959 in 2021; its best national rank was #339 in 2021.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #397 in 2020 to #387 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #839 in 2015 to #387 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,237 boys were recorded with the name Kalani between 1959 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 86 in 2009; its best national rank was #1,731 in 2006.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,818 in 2020 to #4,791 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,313 in 2015 to #4,791 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Kalani?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 4,140
800 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 2,010
0.05% of girls
Rank, 2025
#387
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
2,874 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kalani sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1002%
School of 50011%

Put another way: gather 2,874 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kalani. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kalanis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kalani was born before 2019 — so the typical Kalani is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
49.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
93.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
10,278
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 49.8% of all recorded uses (5,121).

Is Kalani rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−48
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+10
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+452
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.40×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
83.4%
Peak was 2021 (959)
Years since peak
4
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
20.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#339
2021

Spellings of Kalani

Kalani is not the most common spelling — Alana is, with 18.0% against Kalani's 2.7%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Kalani is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Kalani was most concentrated in Mississippi — about 1 in 575 girls, against 1 in 1,890 across all states with data. It was least common in Oregon (1 in 14,286).

7174 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Mississippi1 in 575
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 685
  3. 3South Carolina1 in 787
  4. 4Alabama1 in 826
  5. 5Georgia1 in 833
  6. 6Arkansas1 in 1,087
  7. 7North Carolina1 in 1,099
  8. 8Florida1 in 1,266

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Kalani is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 75% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Kalani is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Kalani was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 1,190 boys, against 1 in 58,703 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

084 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 1,190
  2. 2California1 in 33,333
  3. 3Florida1 in 100,000
  4. 4Nevada1 in 100,000
  5. 5Arizona1 in —
  6. 6Georgia1 in —
  7. 7North Carolina1 in —
  8. 8New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Kalani has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kalani around the world

Where Kalani ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2006–2025
    #2,278
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2016–2024
    #1,854
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1977–2013
    #818
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Kalani

People whose public names include Kalani, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Kalani by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#387
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 10
Best rank ever
#339
2021
Peak year
2021
959 that year
First recorded
1963
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
10,278
Count in 2025
800

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,791
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,973
Best rank ever
#1,731
2006
Peak year
2009
86 that year
First recorded
1959
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,237
Count in 2025
21

Names similar to Kalani

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KallieKalyaniKaleahKalinaKaliyahKalynnKaleyKalynKaleighKaliaKalenaKaliahMilaniArmaniKalliKalieNalaniAilaniKaleaMalaniKaleeKalaMelaniKalaya

Names with a curve like Kalani

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Kalani, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AlessiaWynterAntonellaEsmeEloraAmoraMaisieEmoryPoppyAlayaKatalinaAri

Sibling names for Kalani

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Kalani

Top names of 2021, Kalani's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2021Girls' names starting with KHawaiian Girl NamesHawaiian Names