Nylani
A feminine name deriving from Native American origins, meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 421 living Americans carry the first name Nylani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nylani today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nylani births was 2024 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nylani. 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
421
~ 1 in 814,143 Americans
Peak year
2024
84 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,242
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Nylani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nylani from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 304 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
Nylani 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 Nylani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nylanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Florida, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Nylani, while Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nylani
The name Nylani is a relatively modern invention, likely created by merging the names Nyla and Lani. Nyla is a Hindi word meaning "blue," while Lani is a Hawaiian name meaning "heavenly." The combination of these two words suggests a meaning of "heavenly blue" or "blue heaven" for the name Nylani.
This name does not appear to have any historical references or recorded examples from ancient texts or religious scriptures. It is a newly coined name that has only recently gained popularity, particularly in the United States.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nylani is Nylani Spears, an American model and entrepreneur born in 1990. She has worked with various fashion brands and is known for her advocacy of body positivity and self-love.
Another notable person with this name is Nylani Murphy, a Canadian actress born in 2001. She has appeared in various television shows and movies, including the Netflix series "The Umbrella Academy" and the film "The Binge."
Nylani Lawson is an American singer and songwriter born in 1996. She has released several singles and has collaborated with other artists in the music industry.
Nylani Baylor is an American professional basketball player born in 1998. She currently plays for the Atlanta Dream in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Nylani Panzer is a German artist and photographer born in 1985. Her work often explores themes of identity, gender, and socio-political issues.
While the name Nylani is relatively new and has only recently gained popularity, it has already been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and professions. Its unique combination of meanings from different cultures and languages has likely contributed to its appeal and increasing use as a first name.
People
Nylani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nylani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nylani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nylani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 421 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nylani 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 814,143 US residents.
Is Nylani a common name?
We classify Nylani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 424 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nylani most popular?
The single biggest year for Nylani was 2024, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nylani 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 Nylani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nylani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nylani 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 Nylani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nylani 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 Nylani 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 share the name Nylani?
Find out how many people have the name Nylani on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.