Kelani
An ancient Sinhalese name meaning "river princess" or "princess of the river".
Name Census estimates that about 1,623 living Americans carry the first name Kelani. It is a predominantly female name (96.0% of registrations). The average person named Kelani today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelani births was 2020 (189 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelani. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kelani with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kelani is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 66 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Kelani is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 211,186 Americans
Peak year
2020
189 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2022 SSA rank
#1,356
Tracked since 1976
Census
Kelani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 828 people with the first name Kelani, which placed it at #14,266 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,266
National first-name rank
People counted
828
828 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelani is Black at 48.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.4%) and Two or More Races (14.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kelani described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kelani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.9% · 405
- Hispanic or Latino19.4% · 161
- Two or more races14.6% · 121
- White10.6% · 88
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Kelani
Kelani leans heavily female at 96.0% of total registrations, but 66 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kelani as a male name
- Ranked #13,358 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2014 (8 births)
Kelani as a female name
- Ranked #1,356 in 2024
- 168 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (182 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelani leans strongly female. 756 people counted with this name were female (91.5%), compared with 70 male bearers (8.5%).
Popularity
Kelani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelani from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 815 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kelani by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kelani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kelanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Florida, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kelani, while Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kelani
The name Kelani is believed to have its origins in the Sinhalese language, which is spoken primarily in Sri Lanka. It is a relatively modern name that gained popularity in the 20th century, particularly among the Sinhala community.
The name Kelani is derived from the name of the Kelani River, a major river that flows through the Western Province of Sri Lanka. The river is considered sacred in Sinhala Buddhist culture and has played a significant role in the history and mythology of the region.
While the name Kelani does not have a long recorded history, it has been associated with several notable individuals in recent times. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Kelani Palipana, a Sinhalese author and poet who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another notable figure with the name Kelani is Kelani Vijitha, a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter who has made significant contributions to Sinhala cinema. He directed several critically acclaimed films, including "Viragaya" (1987) and "Bambaru Avith" (1977).
In the field of music, Kelani Jayasiri is a prominent name. He is a Sri Lankan composer and musician who has composed numerous popular songs and film scores. His compositions have played a significant role in shaping the modern Sinhala music scene.
Kelani Gnanamuttu was a Sri Lankan politician and member of parliament who served as the Minister of Industrial Development in the late 20th century. He played an influential role in shaping the country's industrial policies during his time in office.
Finally, Kelani Abeywickrama is a contemporary Sri Lankan artist known for her vibrant and colorful paintings. Her works often depict scenes from Sri Lankan culture and daily life, capturing the essence of the island nation's rich traditions and heritage.
While the name Kelani is relatively modern and does not have a long recorded history, it has gained popularity and recognition in recent times, particularly among the Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka. The name's association with the sacred Kelani River and its adoption by notable figures in various fields has contributed to its significance and cultural relevance.
People
Kelani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kelani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,623 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelani going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 211,186 US residents.
Is Kelani a common name?
We classify Kelani as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,637 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelani most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelani was 2020, when 189 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelani is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kelani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 828 people with the name Kelani, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,266 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kelani in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kelani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelani leans strongly female. 756 people counted with this name were female (91.5%), compared with 70 male bearers (8.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kelani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelani is Black at 48.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.4%) and Two or More Races (14.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kelani most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kelani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.9% (405 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kelani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kelani a female name?
Yes, 96.0% of people registered as Kelani in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kelani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kelani in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kelani can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Kelani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.