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Lani

Gender
Girl
Say it
LAH-nee
Origin
Hawaiian
UK rank, 2025
#1,324 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,592 for girls

Lani is a girls' name of Hawaiian origin, meaning “sky, heaven”. In 2025 it ranked 1,324th for girls in the UK (25 babies) and 1,592nd for girls in the US (131 babies).

What does Lani mean?

Hawaiian: Hawaiian word name

“sky, heaven”

A Hawaiian word for sky or heaven, also found in longer names such as Leilani.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Lani a girl's or a boy's name?

Lani is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 25 girls in the UK and 131 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Lani in the UK?

Rank in 2025
1,324th among girls
Babies in 2025
25 about 1 in 11,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 13% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 25 girls in the UK were named Lani, making it the 1,324th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,046th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 35 girls.

2025 had more girls named Lani than any year since 2019.

Half of all the girls named Lani in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 28 girls in the UK were given Lani or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,081, up from #1,324 for this spelling alone.

In 2013, 69% of the babies named Lani in the UK were girls.

Among girls in 2025, it was 1,271st in England and Wales.

1996Busiest: 35 in 20082025
Lani in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202525#1,324
202414#2,057
202320#1,611
202217#1,794
202120#1,605
202014#2,046
201931#1,159
201823#1,468
201714#2,099
201614#2,111
201519#1,684
201414#2,076
20139#2,796
201219#1,681
201121#1,518
201016#1,829
200925#1,285
200835#978
200734#963
200626#1,118
200532#918
200425#1,048
200328#951
200217#1,280
20019#1,974
200016#1,290
199913#1,493
199820#1,123
19978#2,073
19965#2,815

How popular is Lani in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,592nd among girls
Babies in 2025
131 about 1 in 12,000 girls
Five-year trend
Rising up 41% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 131 girls in the US were named Lani, making it the 1,592nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,196th. Its busiest year was 1979, with 143 girls. It first appears in the records in 1917.

2025 had more girls named Lani than any year since 2005.

Half of all the girls named Lani in the US since 1880 were born between 1963 and 2005, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 150 girls in the US were given Lani or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,273, up from #1,592 for this spelling alone.

1917Busiest: 143 in 19792025
Lani in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025131#1,592
2024105#1,895
202396#2,033
202298#1,992
202192#2,071
202082#2,196
201981#2,249
201873#2,438
201778#2,338
201680#2,343
201567#2,646
201472#2,497
201374#2,439
201271#2,548
201176#2,415
201090#2,167
200998#2,076
200895#2,122
2007120#1,784
2006127#1,664
2005142#1,479
2004132#1,519
2003118#1,624
2002130#1,467
200196#1,829
200086#1,948
199973#2,092
199866#2,161
199743#2,817
199645#2,710
199567#2,023
199462#2,162
199382#1,772
199289#1,684
199175#1,871
199089#1,653
198972#1,830
198865#1,887
198764#1,811
198665#1,769
198579#1,535
198465#1,684
198378#1,475
198295#1,317
1981113#1,172
1980142#1,019
1979143#995
197898#1,255
197768#1,576
197679#1,355
197576#1,381
197476#1,364
197364#1,478
197278#1,303
197196#1,187
1970133#953
196996#1,129
196895#1,090
1967102#1,020
196684#1,161
196557#1,463
196485#1,198
196375#1,271
196288#1,167
1961100#1,095
1960105#1,046
195997#1,078
1958100#1,044
195793#1,082
1956106#987
195580#1,111
1954109#920
195386#1,039
195267#1,155
195180#1,037
195076#1,052
194967#1,103
194874#1,014
1947101#874
194673#978
194567#925
194459#1,016
194336#1,366
194239#1,278
194143#1,133
194037#1,203
193915#2,125
193816#2,021
19370–
19360–
19350–
19340–
19330–
19320–
19310–
19300–
19290–
19280–
19270–
19260–
19250–
19245#5,059
19230–
19220–
19210–
19205#4,973
19190–
19180–
19175#4,592

Names like Lani

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Heidi, Leilani, Lara, Mia, Lily, Joni, Scarlett, Lana, Erin, Fatima, Autumn, Gigi

Other spellings of Lani

Lany

Names related to Lani

Laynie, Laine, Laina, Lane, Lania, Lanie, Liani, Laniya, Layani

More Hawaiian names

Kai, Koa, Kailani, Kalani, Nalani, Makai, Keanu, Koah, Meilani, Kailany, Leilany, Laylani, Kaleo, Luana, Leylani, Lailani

Every Hawaiian name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and 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, “Lani: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/lani, updated 20 October 2026.