Fun Facts About the Name Leilani
- Gaining ground: Leilani remained in the U.S. top 100 for 6 consecutive years, from 2020 through 2025. In 2025, it gained 6 ranking positions compared with the previous year.
- More than 56 thousand babies named Leilani: U.S. records list 56,457 babies given the name Leilani from 1880 through 2025. Even 25 boys received the name Leilani - about 1 boy for every 2,257 girls.
What Does the Name Leilani Mean?
Leilani is a Hawaiian name built from two elements: lei, a garland or wreath of flowers, and lani, whose senses include "sky," "heaven," and "royal." Read literally, the compound means "heavenly lei," a flower garland from the sky. Because lani also carries the sense of "royal" or "chief," the name is sometimes glossed "royal child" or "heavenly royal one," which treats the second element as a mark of rank rather than of the heavens. These are customary interpretations of the same two components rather than separate origins; Hawaiian naming often works by combining meaningful word elements and letting the resulting image carry the sense, so no single fixed translation governs the name.
Leilani Name History & Origins
Leilani is a native Hawaiian name. Hawaiian is a Polynesian language within the Austronesian family, and names formed from familiar word elements are traditional in Hawaiian naming. The element lani recurs in other Hawaiian names, such as Kalani and Kailani, and lei likewise appears in Hawaiian compounds. Leilani is spelled without the ʻokina (glottal stop) or kahakō (macron) found in some other Hawaiian words.
The name became familiar outside Hawaii during the twentieth century, as Hawaiian music and imagery reached mainland audiences. The song "Sweet Leilani," written by Harry Owens and performed in the 1937 film Waikiki Wedding, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. That song is a well-known cultural use of the name rather than a record of its first appearance; Leilani is an ordinary Hawaiian personal name that predates it and belongs to the same tradition of element-based naming.
How Popular is the Name Leilani?
Leilani recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2022. Leilani entered the top 100 U.S. girl names in 2020.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #60 | 3,792 | 0.2359% |
| 2024 | #66 | 3,354 | 0.2079% |
| 2023 | #61 | 3,555 | 0.2218% |
| 2022 | #59 | 3,866 | 0.2359% |
| 2021 | #67 | 3,485 | 0.2125% |
| 2020 | #92 | 2,889 | 0.1788% |
| 2019 | #107 | 2,702 | 0.1611% |
| 2018 | #120 | 2,518 | 0.1481% |
| 2017 | #129 | 2,283 | 0.1323% |
| 2016 | #159 | 1,968 | 0.1111% |
| 2015 | #179 | 1,806 | 0.1012% |
| 2014 | #218 | 1,539 | 0.0862% |
| 2013 | #231 | 1,391 | 0.0793% |
| 2012 | #224 | 1,414 | 0.0803% |
| 2011 | #244 | 1,304 | 0.0741% |
| 2010 | #268 | 1,226 | 0.0690% |
| 2009 | #265 | 1,243 | 0.0677% |
| 2008 | #276 | 1,230 | 0.0651% |
| 2007 | #286 | 1,188 | 0.0618% |
| 2006 | #310 | 1,067 | 0.0561% |
| 2005 | #335 | 954 | 0.0516% |
| 2004 | #341 | 937 | 0.0510% |
| 2003 | #353 | 883 | 0.0483% |
| 2002 | #440 | 660 | 0.0367% |
| 2001 | #468 | 593 | 0.0329% |
| 2000 | #523 | 505 | 0.0278% |
| 1999 | #630 | 375 | 0.0211% |
| 1998 | #738 | 296 | 0.0168% |
| 1997 | #765 | 275 | 0.0158% |
| 1996 | #932 | 209 | 0.0119% |
| 1995 | #1,083 | 165 | 0.0094% |
| 1994 | #959 | 194 | 0.0109% |
| 1993 | #997 | 186 | 0.0103% |
| 1992 | #1,147 | 154 | 0.0084% |
| 1991 | #1,146 | 155 | 0.0083% |
| 1990 | #1,115 | 157 | 0.0083% |
| 1989 | #1,122 | 148 | 0.0080% |
| 1988 | #1,094 | 144 | 0.0081% |
| 1987 | #1,090 | 140 | 0.0081% |
| 1986 | #989 | 159 | 0.0093% |
| 1985 | #992 | 154 | 0.0089% |
| 1984 | #1,015 | 141 | 0.0084% |
| 1983 | #895 | 169 | 0.0101% |
| 1982 | #889 | 173 | 0.0102% |
| 1981 | #797 | 203 | 0.0122% |
| 1980 | #746 | 223 | 0.0134% |
| 1979 | #956 | 153 | 0.0095% |
| 1978 | #839 | 177 | 0.0116% |
| 1977 | #949 | 146 | 0.0095% |
| 1976 | #930 | 139 | 0.0095% |
| 1975 | #1,073 | 110 | 0.0075% |
| 1974 | #965 | 128 | 0.0087% |
| 1973 | #976 | 122 | 0.0084% |
| 1972 | #1,151 | 95 | 0.0062% |
| 1971 | #1,028 | 120 | 0.0072% |
| 1970 | #1,001 | 125 | 0.0072% |
| 1969 | #978 | 121 | 0.0072% |
| 1968 | #969 | 115 | 0.0070% |
| 1967 | #986 | 107 | 0.0065% |
| 1966 | #1,148 | 86 | 0.0051% |
| 1965 | #1,093 | 92 | 0.0052% |
| 1964 | #1,216 | 83 | 0.0044% |
| 1963 | #1,101 | 98 | 0.0051% |
| 1962 | #994 | 117 | 0.0059% |
| 1961 | #1,103 | 99 | 0.0049% |
| 1960 | #1,142 | 91 | 0.0045% |
| 1959 | #1,187 | 81 | 0.0040% |
| 1958 | #1,055 | 99 | 0.0049% |
| 1957 | #1,140 | 86 | 0.0042% |
| 1956 | #1,112 | 87 | 0.0043% |
| 1955 | #1,314 | 59 | 0.0030% |
| 1954 | #1,400 | 52 | 0.0027% |
| 1953 | #1,304 | 56 | 0.0030% |
| 1952 | #1,243 | 59 | 0.0032% |
| 1951 | #1,199 | 61 | 0.0034% |
| 1950 | #1,075 | 74 | 0.0043% |
| 1949 | #1,117 | 66 | 0.0039% |
| 1948 | #1,022 | 74 | 0.0044% |
| 1947 | #1,028 | 75 | 0.0042% |
| 1946 | #973 | 74 | 0.0047% |
| 1945 | #893 | 72 | 0.0055% |
| 1944 | #852 | 80 | 0.0060% |
| 1943 | #790 | 97 | 0.0070% |
| 1942 | #759 | 99 | 0.0073% |
| 1941 | #770 | 88 | 0.0073% |
| 1940 | #756 | 85 | 0.0074% |
| 1939 | #690 | 98 | 0.0089% |
| 1938 | #685 | 101 | 0.0092% |
| 1937 | #758 | 81 | 0.0076% |
| 1936 | #3,264 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1935 | #3,052 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1934 | #2,656 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1933 | #3,602 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #3,764 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #2,259 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1930 | #3,209 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1929 | #2,841 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1926 | #5,282 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1925 | #3,249 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1924 | #3,535 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1923 | #4,709 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #3,852 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1921 | #4,257 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,545 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1917 | #4,967 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | #11,591 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #12,571 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #9,544 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #9,247 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Leilani Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Leilani's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Leilani's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.