Leilanii
A feminine Hawaiian name meaning "heavenly flowers", "lei" and "lani".
Name Census estimates that about 158 living Americans carry the first name Leilanii. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leilanii today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leilanii births was 2024 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leilanii. 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.
People living today
158
~ 1 in 2,169,331 Americans
Peak year
2024
28 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,822
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Leilanii: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leilanii from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 95 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
Leilanii 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 Leilanii during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leilaniis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leilanii
The name Leilanii is a Hawaiian name that originated in the Hawaiian Islands, likely during the 18th or 19th century. It is a combination of the Hawaiian words "lei," meaning garland or wreath, and "lani," meaning heaven or sky. The name can be interpreted to mean "heavenly lei" or "wreath from heaven."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leilanii can be found in the writings of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, who ruled from 1891 to 1893. In her book "Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen," published in 1898, she mentions a character named Leilanii, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
Historically, the name Leilanii has been associated with Hawaiian culture and tradition, often representing the beauty and natural splendor of the Hawaiian Islands. It has been a popular name among Hawaiians and those with Hawaiian heritage for generations.
One notable figure with the name Leilanii was Leilanii Federman, a Hawaiian actress and hula dancer born in 1932. She appeared in several films and television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including "Hawaiian Eye" and "Hawaii Five-O." Federman helped to promote and preserve Hawaiian culture through her performances and advocacy.
Another famous Leilanii was Leilanii Joy, a Hawaiian singer and songwriter born in 1942. She was known for her traditional Hawaiian music and her efforts to preserve and promote the Hawaiian language and culture.
Leilanii Alama, born in 1957, is a Hawaiian artist and educator who has worked to promote and teach Hawaiian art forms such as weaving, quilting, and lei-making. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and she has been recognized for her contributions to preserving Hawaiian cultural traditions.
Leilanii Kai, born in 1962, is a Hawaiian surfer and surf instructor. She has been instrumental in promoting and teaching surfing to women and girls, and has been recognized for her work in empowering female surfers and promoting surfing as a way of life in Hawaiian culture.
Leilanii Munter, born in 1974, is a professional race car driver and environmental activist. Although not of Hawaiian descent, she has embraced the name Leilanii and its connection to nature and the environment, using her platform to raise awareness about environmental issues and sustainable practices.
People
Leilanii + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leilanii as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leilanii: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leilanii?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 158 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leilanii 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 2,169,331 US residents.
Is Leilanii a common name?
We classify Leilanii as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 159 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leilanii most popular?
The single biggest year for Leilanii was 2024, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leilanii is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Leilanii in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leilanii a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leilanii 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 Leilanii still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leilanii 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 Leilanii 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Leilanii?
See how many people have the name Leilanii on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.