Ailani
A Hawaiian name meaning "heavenly chief" or "high chief".
Name Census estimates that about 6,045 living Americans carry the first name Ailani. It sits at #325 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ailani today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ailani births was 2024 (951 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ailani. 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 Ailani with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ailani is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.0K
~ 1 in 56,700 Americans
Peak year
2024
951 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#325
Tracked since 1996
Census
Ailani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,179 people with the first name Ailani, which placed it at #7,100 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
#7,100
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,179 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
72.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ailani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ailani is Hispanic at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Ailani 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 Ailani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.1% · 1,572
- Black or African American13.1% · 286
- Two or more races7.1% · 154
- White3.8% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Ailani
Out of the 6,089 babies given the name Ailani since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Ailani as a male name
- Ranked #12,365 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (5 births)
Ailani as a female name
- Ranked #325 in 2024
- 946 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (946 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ailani appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,182 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Ailani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ailani from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 3,273 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
Ailani 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 Ailani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ailanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Ailani, while Delaware, Connecticut, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 135 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ailani
The name Ailani has its origins in the Hawaiian language and culture, with roots dating back to the ancient Polynesian settlers of the Hawaiian Islands. It is derived from the Hawaiian words "ai," meaning "to eat or consume," and "lani," meaning "heaven" or "sky."
In Hawaiian mythology, "Lani" was the name given to the celestial realm, and the name Ailani was often associated with the concept of heavenly nourishment or sustenance. It was believed that the gods provided bountiful gifts from the sky, sustaining the people of the islands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ailani can be found in the Kumulipo, an ancient Hawaiian chant that tells the story of the creation of the world. In this chant, Ailani is mentioned as a spiritual entity, representing the connection between the earthly and celestial realms.
Throughout Hawaiian history, the name Ailani has been bestowed upon individuals of both genders, though it has gained more popularity as a feminine name in recent times. One notable historical figure who bore this name was Ailani Kalakaua, a Hawaiian noble and chieftess who lived in the late 18th century and was known for her strong leadership and advocacy for traditional Hawaiian practices.
Another individual of note was Ailani Keawe, a renowned Hawaiian poet and storyteller from the early 19th century. Her works played a significant role in preserving the oral traditions and cultural heritage of the Hawaiian people.
In the realm of Hawaiian royalty, Ailani Kekuanaoa was a prominent figure in the mid-19th century. She was a member of the Hawaiian nobility and served as a trusted advisor to King Kamehameha III.
Moving forward in time, Ailani Kupau was a celebrated Hawaiian musician and composer in the early 20th century. Her compositions helped to revive and preserve traditional Hawaiian music, which had faced challenges during the period of Western influence.
More recently, Ailani Hogan was a respected Hawaiian artist and cultural practitioner in the late 20th century. Her works, inspired by traditional Hawaiian values and motifs, have been widely exhibited and celebrated for their artistic and cultural significance.
Throughout its history, the name Ailani has carried a deep connection to Hawaiian culture, spirituality, and the enduring bond between the people and the land. It has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions to preserving and celebrating the rich heritage of the Hawaiian Islands.
People
Ailani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ailani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ailani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ailani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,045 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ailani 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 56,700 US residents.
Is Ailani a common name?
We classify Ailani as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,089 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ailani most popular?
The single biggest year for Ailani was 2024, when 951 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ailani is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ailani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,179 people with the name Ailani, or 0.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,100 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 Ailani 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 Ailani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ailani appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,182 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Ailani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ailani is Hispanic at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Ailani most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ailani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (1,572 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 Ailani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ailani a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Ailani 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 Ailani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ailani 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 Ailani 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 have Ailani as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.