| Mahina | Leilani | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Moon | Heavenly flower |
| Origin | hawaiian | hawaiian |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | mah-HEE-nah | lay-LAH-nee |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2022 (53) | 2022 (3,868) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 3,792 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Mahina | Leilani |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 247 | 20,964 |
| 2010s | 227 | 18,160 |
| 2000s | 128 | 9,261 |
| 1990s | 69 | 2,166 |
| 1980s | 11 | 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 |
Mahina is the Hawaiian word for 'moon, month, moonlight,' from Proto-Polynesian masina, and is linked to the goddess Hina. The lunar meaning is well documented in Hawaiian dictionaries.
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 Mahina today: about 3,792 US babies were given the name Leilani in 2025, compared with 0 named Mahina.
Mahina means Moon (hawaiian origin), while Leilani means Heavenly flower (hawaiian origin).
In US records, Mahina first appears in 0 and Leilani in 1917, so Mahina has the longer recorded history.