| Kailani | Leilani | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Sea and sky | Heavenly flower |
| Origin | hawaiian | hawaiian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ky-LAH-nee | lay-LAH-nee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1980 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2022 (1,350) | 2022 (3,868) |
| In 2025 | 1,215 | 3,792 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Kailani | Leilani |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7,301 | 20,964 |
| 2010s | 4,067 | 18,160 |
| 2000s | 1,147 | 9,261 |
| 1990s | 204 | 2,166 |
| 1980s | 59 | 1,654 |
| 1970s | 0 | 1,315 |
| 1960s | 0 | 1,011 |
| 1950s | 0 | 713 |
| 1940s | 0 | 810 |
| 1930s | 0 | 345 |
| 1920s | 0 | 56 |
| 1910s | 0 | 11 |
A Hawaiian compound of 'kai' (sea) and 'lani' (sky, heaven), commonly rendered 'sea and sky' or 'heavenly sea'.
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 Kailani today: about 3,792 US babies were given the name Leilani in 2025, compared with 1,215 named Kailani.
Kailani means Sea and sky (hawaiian origin), while Leilani means Heavenly flower (hawaiian origin).
In US records, Kailani first appears in 1980 and Leilani in 1917, so Leilani has the longer recorded history.