| Leilani | Alani | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Heavenly flower | orange tree |
| Origin | hawaiian | hawaiian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | lay-LAH-nee | uh-LAH-nee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1917 | 1978 |
| Peak year | 2022 (3,868) | 2025 (1,843) |
| In 2025 | 3,792 | 1,843 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Leilani | Alani |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 20,964 | 9,825 |
| 2010s | 18,160 | 6,166 |
| 2000s | 9,261 | 2,377 |
| 1990s | 2,166 | 355 |
| 1980s | 1,654 | 71 |
| 1970s | 1,315 | 5 |
| 1960s | 1,011 | 0 |
| 1950s | 713 | 0 |
| 1940s | 810 | 0 |
| 1930s | 345 | 0 |
| 1920s | 56 | 0 |
| 1910s | 11 | 0 |
From Hawaiian 'lei' (flower, garland, lei) + 'lani' (heaven, sky, royal), giving 'heavenly flower' or more literally 'heavenly garland'. The floral element is genuine.
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.
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.
Leilani means Heavenly flower (hawaiian origin), while Alani means orange tree (hawaiian origin).
In US records, Leilani first appears in 1917 and Alani in 1978, so Leilani has the longer recorded history.