| Alani | Leilani | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | orange tree | Heavenly flower |
| Origin | hawaiian | hawaiian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-LAH-nee | lay-LAH-nee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1978 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2025 (1,843) | 2022 (3,868) |
| In 2025 | 1,843 | 3,792 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Alani | Leilani |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9,825 | 20,964 |
| 2010s | 6,166 | 18,160 |
| 2000s | 2,377 | 9,261 |
| 1990s | 355 | 2,166 |
| 1980s | 71 | 1,654 |
| 1970s | 5 | 1,315 |
| 1960s | 0 | 1,011 |
| 1950s | 0 | 713 |
| 1940s | 0 | 810 |
| 1930s | 0 | 345 |
| 1920s | 0 | 56 |
| 1910s | 0 | 11 |
From Hawaiian 'alani', meaning 'orange tree' (and the color orange), also linked to a fragrant native tree whose leaves scented cloth. A separate, unrelated name Alana (Celtic) is sometimes confused with it.
From Hawaiian 'lei' (flower, garland, lei) + 'lani' (heaven, sky, royal), giving 'heavenly flower' or more literally 'heavenly garland'. The floral element is genuine.
Leilani is more popular than Alani today: about 3,792 US babies were given the name Leilani in 2025, compared with 1,843 named Alani.
Alani means orange tree (hawaiian origin), while Leilani means Heavenly flower (hawaiian origin).
In US records, Alani first appears in 1978 and Leilani in 1917, so Leilani has the longer recorded history.