Kailani
Torn between Kailani and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
sea and sky
The story
Kailani is Hawaiian, sea and sky together, as our meaning records read it, and its K-sister Kaylani climbs in this same batch of our worklist, two spellings of one horizon arriving side by side. The I-spelling is the closer to the Hawaiian elements, and its record runs just ahead: about 1,200 in the 2000s, 4,100 in the 2010s, and 7,300 so far this decade, well past the full 2010s with years to run. The -lani family it belongs to, Leilani at the head, Kehlani, Alani and Ailany with stories of their own here, is one of the strongest sound-currents in current American naming, every spelling counted separately, one wave underneath. In our records Kailani goes to girls about 12,800 to 45. Sea below, sky above, and a name that holds the line where they meet: the appeal survives translation because it barely needs one.
How popular is Kailani around the world?
In the United States, 7,322 babies were named Kailani between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 164 registrations of Kailani in 2022.
Kailani is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Australia, Argentina, Chile, Austria, Canada, England and Wales, Brazil and Spain.
Kailani 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 3,000
In the United States, 7,322 babies were named Kailani between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kailani peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 720
In Mexico City, there were 164 registrations of Kailani 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 (8 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
1 in 950
In Puerto Rico, 19 babies were named Kailani in 2025, and 144 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)
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Kailani were registered in 2024, the 790th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Kailani in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 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
Argentina
1 in 21,000
In Argentina, 31 newborns were given the name Kailani 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
Chile
1 in 25,000
In Chile, 7 girls were registered as Kailani in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 girls named Kailani were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Canada
1 in 46,000
In Canada, 8 girls named Kailani were born in 2024, ranked 2,463rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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 Kailani were born in 2025, ranked 5,927th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 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
Brazil
1 in 250,000
At the 2022 census, 789 people in Brazil were named Kailani, ranked 9,773rd, with a median age of 18.
Among people named Kailani living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 25 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Spain
1 in 690,000
In Spain, 65 residents are named Kailani, ranked 11,081st among women, with a mean age of 5.3 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
Poland
last on record 2021
Kailani is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the record in Ireland and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
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 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 Kailani
Most people given the name Kailani 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 Kailani deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kailani 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 Kailani fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Kailani fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Kailani to your family’s tree →