Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Kalani

Meaning Borrowed from Hawaiian Kalani Gender Unisex · 82% girls Rank 2025 #387 Trend ↑ Rising 32%

Borrowed from Hawaiian Kalani.

Rank 2025
#387
among girls · ↓48 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
821
named Kalani · -14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,009
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2021
1,003 babies
All-time total
12,515
#1,633 all-time among girls
First recorded
1959
in Social Security records

Kalani popularity over time

12,515 babies have been named Kalani since 1959, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – 5 5 1 – –
1960s 16 41 57 6 +1040% #4,126
1970s 71 153 224 22 +293% #4,766
1980s 167 211 378 38 +69% #3,259
1990s 368 307 675 68 +79% #2,293
2000s 1,132 670 1,802 180 +167% #1,415
2010s 3,403 636 4,039 404 +124% #469
2020s (to 2025) 5,121 214 5,335 889 +120% #339

Where Kalani is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 842 0.52 #363
2027 880 0.55 #347
2028 914 0.57 #336
2029 943 0.59 #325
2030 969 0.60 #316

Where Kalani is most popular

Girls named Kalani per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.535 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kalani born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 116 2.48 +364%
Louisiana 175 2.00 +274%
South Carolina 152 1.69 +216%
Alabama 147 1.57 +193%
Georgia 336 1.48 +177%
Arkansas 65 1.23 +130%
North Carolina 262 1.15 +115%
Florida 385 0.900 +68%
Tennessee 134 0.846 +58%
District of Columbia 10 0.844 +58%
Maryland 86 0.812 +52%
Virginia 128 0.751 +40%
Indiana 97 0.691 +29%
Michigan 125 0.686 +28%
Illinois 156 0.681 +27%
Oklahoma 47 0.639 +19%
West Virginia 16 0.611 +14%
Kentucky 52 0.608 +14%
Nebraska 21 0.584 +9%
Texas 468 0.582 +9%
Wisconsin 59 0.573 +7%
Ohio 134 0.565 +6%
Pennsylvania 130 0.550 ≈ national
Missouri 60 0.498 -7%
Nevada 23 0.495 -7%
Arizona 63 0.449 -16%
New Jersey 81 0.449 -16%
New York 177 0.447 -16%
Delaware 5 0.441 -18%
Connecticut 22 0.378 -29%
Iowa 22 0.377 -30%
California 274 0.326 -39%
Kansas 18 0.312 -42%
Colorado 32 0.287 -46%
Massachusetts 30 0.248 -54%
Minnesota 21 0.195 -64%
Washington 24 0.166 -69%
Utah 12 0.144 -73%
Oregon 5 0.077 -86%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kalani

Kalani is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #387 in 2025 with 800 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1959, 12,515 American babies have been named Kalani, about 82% girls and 18% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 1,003 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kalani stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kalani?

The median living Kalani is about 7 years old; half are between 3 and 15. An estimated 12 thousand people named Kalani are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kalani year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 800 #387 21 #4,792
2024 921 #339 36 #3,305
2023 814 #380 33 #3,511
2022 843 #375 37 #3,248
2021 959 #339 44 #2,840
2020 784 #397 43 #2,819
2019 668 #469 38 #3,127
2018 527 #585 43 #2,822
2017 568 #545 57 #2,300
2016 433 #678 77 #1,910
2015 334 #839 57 #2,314
2014 239 #1,072 63 #2,165
2013 170 #1,375 78 #1,838
2012 180 #1,308 79 #1,853
2011 158 #1,436 75 #1,880
2010 126 #1,683 69 #1,991
2009 166 #1,415 86 #1,766
2008 108 #1,954 67 #2,078
2007 120 #1,788 69 #2,025
2006 134 #1,603 81 #1,731
2005 113 #1,750 65 #1,954
2004 143 #1,438 66 #1,866
2003 107 #1,764 61 #1,919
2002 92 #1,926 65 #1,778
2001 81 #2,069 58 #1,902
2000 68 #2,293 52 #1,982
1995 43 #2,813 27 #2,725
1990 29 #3,664 27 #2,526
1985 14 #5,180 24 #2,261
1980 15 #4,830 22 #2,324
1975 7 #7,504 23 #2,034
1970 5 #8,581 – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – 5 #4,329
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kalani, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kalani?

The median living Kalani is about 7 years old. Half of all living Kalanis are between 3 and 15 years old.

How many people named Kalani are alive today?

An estimated 12 thousand people named Kalani are alive in the United States, based on 12,515 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kalani mean?

Borrowed from Hawaiian Kalani.

How popular is the name Kalani in 2025?

Kalani ranked #387 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 800 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kalani?

12,515 babies have been named Kalani in the United States since 1959, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kalani most popular?

Kalani peaked in 2021, when 1,003 newborns received the name.

Is Kalani a boy or girl name?

Kalani is used for both: about 82% of babies named Kalani have been girls and 18% boys.

Is the name Kalani rising or falling?

Kalani is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Kalani become more popular?

Kalani is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 969 girls named Kalani in 2030, which would rank around #316. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Kalani

Names that sound and feel close to Kalani: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kalani with similar names → More names starting with K →