Kehlani
Torn between Kehlani and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
"sea and sky"
The story
Kehlani has one of the shortest histories on this site: its entire American record fits in two decade buckets. About 3,200 girls in the 2010s, and already 11,300 so far this decade, more than triple the full 2010s with years still to run. The name assembles Hawaiian elements traditionally read as sea and sky, and its arrival tracks precisely with the Oakland singer Kehlani, whose first records landed mid-2010s; when a name's whole national history begins in one artist's debut window, the coincidence hardly needs a chart, though a decade bucket still cannot read a single family's mind. In our records it is almost entirely a girls' name, about 14,500 to 51. What families are choosing is texture: island geography, R&B credibility, and a melody of three open syllables that English first names rarely offer. Its history is short because it is being written now.
How popular is Kehlani around the world?
In the United States, 11,319 babies were named Kehlani between 2020 and 2025.
Kehlani is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, Canada, England and Wales, France and Poland.
United States
1 in 1,900
In the United States, 11,319 babies were named Kehlani between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kehlani peaked in the 2020s. Kehlani went to 50 US babies in 2015 and 1,986 in 2025, 39.7 times as many.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 girls named Kehlani were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 8,500
In Canada, 43 girls named Kehlani were born in 2024, the 670th most common name 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 15,000
In England and Wales, 39 girls named Kehlani were born in 2025, the 894th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 girls named Kehlani were born in 2025, ranked 1,743rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 girls named Kehlani were born in 2025, the 706th most common name among girls that year.
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)
Argentina
last on record 2022
Kehlani is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Austria
last on record 2024
Kehlani is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 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)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2023
Kehlani is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 11 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Ireland and Scotland: 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 South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Kehlani
Most people given the name Kehlani 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 Kehlani deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kehlani 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 Kehlani fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Kehlani fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Kehlani to your family’s tree →