Malani
Meaning
traditionally interpreted as 'peaceful heaven', from Hawaiian malu/malie (calm) and lani (sky)
The story
Malani is Hawaiian, traditionally read as peaceful heaven, from malu and malie, the calm, and lani, the sky, and it joins the -lani family that Leilani anchors at about 56,500, the register of island skies our records keep filling. Malani is among its newest members and one of its quickest: about 290 in the 2000s, 2,000 in the 2010s, and already 4,800 so far this decade, close to two and a half times the full 2010s with years to run, the same current that carries Ailani. It goes to girls almost without exception: about 7,100 to five. The family's grammar is consistent: the front half describes, the lani lifts. Leilani's flowers, Ailani's chief, and now Malani's calm: the sky over the islands keeps room for all of them.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Malani peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
45 people · the #71,575 first name in Brazil · median age 28
Among people named Malani living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Malani
Most people given the name Malani 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.
The Malani deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Malani 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 Malani fits with your family’s names and surname.
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