Ailani
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Meaning
Possibly from Hawaiian ʻAilani, a chief’s privileges and duties; a link to Spanish Aylín has also been proposed.
The story
Ailani’s origin is uncertain. It may come from the Hawaiian name ʻAilani or from Spanish Aylín.
For the Hawaiian form ʻAilani, the expression ʻai lani describes enjoying a chief’s privileges and carrying out a chief’s responsibilities. Here ʻai concerns ruling or enjoying the benefits of rule, while lani can mean "sky" and can also refer to a high chief.
How popular is Ailani around the world?
In the United States, 5,087 babies were named Ailani between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 18 babies were named Ailani in 2025, and 63 have carried the name since 1998.
Ailani is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Argentina, Canada, England and Wales, Spain and Brazil.
Ailani crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 4,300
In the United States, 5,087 babies were named Ailani between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ailani peaked in the 2020s. Ailani went to 208 US babies in 2015 and 1,807 in 2025, 8.7 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,000
In Puerto Rico, 18 babies were named Ailani in 2025, and 63 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 2,600
In Mexico City, there were 45 registrations of Ailani in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Argentina
1 in 9,600
In Argentina, 69 newborns were given the name Ailani in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Canada
1 in 52,000
In Canada, 7 girls named Ailani were born in 2024, ranked 2,710th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 girls named Ailani were born in 2025, ranked 5,927th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Spain
1 in 2.2M
In Spain, 20 residents are named Ailani, ranked 31,002nd among women, with a mean age of 6.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 28 people in Brazil were named Ailani, ranked 99,072nd, with a median age of 24.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
South Australia
last on record 2010
Ailani is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Ailani
Most people given the name Ailani in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Ailani deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ailani truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ailani fits with your family’s names and surname.
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