Nalani

What Nalani means

Hawaiian, meaning “sky”

nā, plural definite article + lani (“sky”) = "the heavens, the chiefs".

Source: Wiktionary, “Nālani” (revision 83795564), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Nalani?

US: Rising: up from #1280 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #5730 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 754 girls got the name (#414 that year). First in the US records in 1946.

How common

• About 1 in 2,132 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 31,660 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in HI (2.8 per 1,000 girls), SC (1.15 per 1,000 girls), NC (0.97 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Nalani is #414 in the US and #3035 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Nalani were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Naylani296 US
• Nailani134 US
• Noelani109 US
• Nylani91 US
• Neylani51 US
• Nailany51 US
• Naelani38 US
• Neilani38 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Nalani

Girls

• Leilani#60Hawaiian, meaning “a lei; a child + heavenly, royal”^*
• Kailani#253“sea + sky”^*
• Rory#230“red-haired king”^*
• Kaylani#185Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,054 in 2015, #185 in 2025
• Eliana#10Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #102 in 2015, #10 in 2025. 6 letters, starting with a vowel
• Josephine#53Feminine form of Joseph, meaning “(God) shall add”^*

For a brother

• Luka#85Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #85 vs #261 in 2025
• Luca#14Form of Lucy, meaning “light”^*
• Enzo#72“home + ruler”^*
• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Elias#13Form of Elijah, meaning “Yahweh is my god”^*
• Ezekiel#61“God strengthens”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Nalani’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.