Aolani
Hawaiian given name meaning "heavenly cloud" or "divine light".
Name Census estimates that about 889 living Americans carry the first name Aolani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aolani today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aolani births was 2007 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aolani. 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
889
~ 1 in 385,550 Americans
Peak year
2007
54 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,658
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Aolani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aolani from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 367 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Aolani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aolani 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 Aolani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aolanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Aolani, while Illinois, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 72 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aolani
The name Aolani is of Hawaiian origin, derived from the Hawaiian words "ao" meaning "cloud" and "lani" meaning "sky" or "heaven." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a representation of the beauty and majesty of the Hawaiian skies and clouds.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aolani dates back to the late 19th century in Hawaii. It was likely a traditional Hawaiian name used by native Hawaiians long before it was documented in written records.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Aolani was Aolani Kaʻauwai, a Hawaiian musician and composer born in 1868. She is credited with composing several traditional Hawaiian songs that are still performed today.
Another notable figure with the name Aolani was Aolani Semler, a Hawaiian activist and educator who lived from 1904 to 1986. She was a prominent figure in the Hawaiian Renaissance movement, dedicated to preserving and promoting Hawaiian culture and language.
In the early 20th century, Aolani Kaʻauwai was a Hawaiian storyteller and educator who worked to document and share traditional Hawaiian stories and legends with younger generations.
Aolani Kalaʻi was a Hawaiian artist and sculptor active in the mid-20th century, known for his carvings and sculptures that depicted traditional Hawaiian motifs and themes.
More recently, Aolani Papalii was a Hawaiian artist and printmaker who lived from 1924 to 2010. Her works often celebrated Hawaiian culture and landscapes.
While the name Aolani has Hawaiian roots, its melodic sound and meaning have made it appealing to individuals of various cultural backgrounds in modern times. However, its origins and historical ties to Hawaii remain an essential part of its significance.
People
Aolani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aolani 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
Aolani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aolani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 889 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aolani 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 385,550 US residents.
Is Aolani a common name?
We classify Aolani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 902 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aolani most popular?
The single biggest year for Aolani was 2007, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aolani is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aolani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aolani 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.
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.