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