Calani
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the heavens" or "the sky".
Name Census estimates that about 368 living Americans carry the first name Calani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Calani today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calani births was 2022 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calani. 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
368
~ 1 in 931,398 Americans
Peak year
2022
72 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,926
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Calani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calani 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 270 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
Calani 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 Calani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Florida, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Calani, while Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Calani
The name Calani has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, the classical language of the Indian subcontinent. It emerged around the 5th century BCE during the Vedic period, one of the oldest eras in Indian history. Calani is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "kalana," which means "pleasing" or "charming."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Calani can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit epic dating back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this text, Calani is mentioned as the name of a celestial nymph, or apsara, known for her beauty and grace.
Throughout the centuries, several notable historical figures have borne the name Calani. One of the most famous was Calani Rishi (c. 200 BCE - 100 CE), a revered Hindu sage and philosopher renowned for his contributions to the study of the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures.
Another prominent figure was Calani Devi (c. 1550 - 1620), a renowned poet and mystic from the Indian state of Rajasthan. Her devotional poetry, which celebrated the divine love for Krishna, is still widely recited and studied today.
In the 16th century, Calani Bai (1515 - 1586) was a influential courtesan and patron of the arts in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. She was known for her exceptional beauty, intelligence, and her support of poets, musicians, and artists.
During the 18th century, Calani Acharya (1718 - 1795) was a prominent Hindu scholar and spiritual leader from Bengal. He was widely respected for his expertise in Vedic philosophy and his efforts to promote education and social reform.
In more recent history, Calani Mukherjee (1890 - 1963) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She played a significant role in reviving and popularizing the ancient Indian dance form of Kathak, which had fallen into decline during the British colonial era.
People
Calani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Calani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 368 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calani 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 931,398 US residents.
Is Calani a common name?
We classify Calani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 370 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calani most popular?
The single biggest year for Calani was 2022, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calani is about 5 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 Calani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Calani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calani 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 Calani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Calani 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 Calani 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 Calani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.