Kalei
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- kah-LAY
- Origin
- Hawaiian
- US rank, 2025
- #8,360 for girls
Kalei is a name of Hawaiian origin, meaning “the garland, beloved one”. In 2025 it ranked 8,360th for girls in the US (12 babies).
What does Kalei mean?
Hawaiian: from ka lei
“the garland, beloved one”
From Hawaiian ka lei, the garland; lei is also used poetically for a cherished child.
Is Kalei a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Kalei has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls and 11 boys in the US.
How popular is Kalei in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 8,360th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 12 about 1 in 130,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 26% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 12 girls in the US were named Kalei, making it the 8,360th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,675th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 142 girls. It first appears in the records in 1980. 11 boys were also named Kalei in 2025 (7,190th for boys).
2025 had fewer girls named Kalei than any year since 1993.
Half of all the girls named Kalei in the US since 1880 were born between 1999 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 91% of the babies named Kalei in the US in 1999, and 78% in 2024.
Kalei in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,360 |
| 2024 | 25 | #5,145 |
| 2023 | 34 | #4,189 |
| 2022 | 33 | #4,293 |
| 2021 | 29 | #4,603 |
| 2020 | 40 | #3,675 |
| 2019 | 31 | #4,436 |
| 2018 | 25 | #5,148 |
| 2017 | 28 | #4,809 |
| 2016 | 34 | #4,249 |
| 2015 | 32 | #4,402 |
| 2014 | 33 | #4,348 |
| 2013 | 48 | #3,313 |
| 2012 | 42 | #3,710 |
| 2011 | 30 | #4,680 |
| 2010 | 51 | #3,202 |
| 2009 | 70 | #2,613 |
| 2008 | 53 | #3,157 |
| 2007 | 82 | #2,328 |
| 2006 | 89 | #2,165 |
| 2005 | 95 | #1,992 |
| 2004 | 88 | #2,065 |
| 2003 | 142 | #1,394 |
| 2002 | 90 | #1,953 |
| 2001 | 100 | #1,774 |
| 2000 | 98 | #1,772 |
| 1999 | 104 | #1,610 |
| 1998 | 98 | #1,644 |
| 1997 | 79 | #1,861 |
| 1996 | 31 | #3,564 |
| 1995 | 28 | #3,775 |
| 1994 | 27 | #3,887 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,491 |
| 1992 | 19 | #5,044 |
| 1991 | 15 | #5,943 |
| 1990 | 21 | #4,518 |
| 1989 | 21 | #4,352 |
| 1988 | 14 | #5,593 |
| 1987 | 10 | #6,783 |
| 1986 | 15 | #4,961 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,149 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 9 | #6,788 |
Names like Kalei
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kailani, Kalani, Nalani, Kaylani, Noa, Meilani, Alani, Kai, Kaelani, Kehlani, Noelani, Malani
Names related to Kalei
More Hawaiian names
Leilani, Koa, Makai, Keanu, Koah, Kailany, Leilany, Laylani, Kaleo, Lani, Luana, Leylani, Lailani, Makoa, Nakoa, Alakai
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kalei: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kalei, updated 20 October 2026.