Kealii
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- keh-ah-LEE-ee
- Origin
- Hawaiian
- US rank, 2025
- #9,710 for boys
Kealii is a boys' name of Hawaiian origin, meaning “the chief, royal one”. In 2025 it ranked 9,710th for boys in the US (7 babies).
What does Kealii mean?
Hawaiian: Hawaiian ke ali'i
“the chief, royal one”
From Hawaiian ke ali'i, 'the chief'; ali'i is the word for Hawaii's traditional ruling class.
Is Kealii a girl's or a boy's name?
Kealii is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 7 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kealii in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 9,710th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 7 about 1 in 240,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 7 boys in the US were named Kealii, making it the 9,710th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 12,016th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 14 boys. It first appears in the records in 1974.
2025 had fewer boys named Kealii than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Kealii in the US since 1880 were born between 1995 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kealii in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #9,710 |
| 2024 | 8 | #8,982 |
| 2023 | 13 | #6,512 |
| 2022 | 8 | #8,983 |
| 2021 | 11 | #7,084 |
| 2020 | 5 | #12,016 |
| 2019 | 6 | #10,797 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 8 | #8,835 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 8 | #8,739 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 9 | #8,113 |
| 2012 | 9 | #8,152 |
| 2011 | 6 | #10,801 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 5 | #12,486 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 11 | #7,090 |
| 2006 | 5 | #12,048 |
| 2005 | 10 | #7,089 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 9 | #7,238 |
| 2002 | 8 | #7,636 |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 9 | #6,832 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,524 |
| 1998 | 7 | #7,553 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 14 | #4,390 |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,922 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 8 | #6,221 |
| 1992 | 7 | #6,662 |
| 1991 | 6 | #7,263 |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 6 | #6,934 |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 8 | #4,848 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 10 | #3,837 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 6 | #5,056 |
| 1977 | 6 | #5,121 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 5 | #5,225 |
Names like Kealii
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kai, Kainoa, Koa, Kaleo, Keanu, Makoa, Makai, Lakai, Keoni, Kekoa, Kailo, Nakoa
Names related to Kealii
More Hawaiian names
Leilani, Kailani, Kalani, Nalani, Koah, Meilani, Kailany, Leilany, Laylani, Lani, Luana, Leylani, Lailani, Alakai, Kaelani, Noelani
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, “Kealii: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kealii, updated 20 October 2026.