Healani
A Hawaiian name meaning "beautiful wave" or "wave from heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Healani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Healani today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Healani births was 2018 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Healani. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Healani. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
2018
13 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,612
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Healani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Healani from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 49 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
Healani 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 Healani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Healanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Healani
The name Healani has its roots in the Hawaiian language and culture, originating from the tropical islands of Hawaii. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Polynesian settlers who first inhabited these islands over a thousand years ago.
The name Healani is a combination of two Hawaiian words: "hea," which means "calling" or "beckoning," and "lani," meaning "heaven" or "sky." Together, Healani can be interpreted as "calling to heaven" or "heavenly beckoning." This name reflects the deep spiritual connection that the ancient Hawaiians had with the natural world and the celestial realms.
In Hawaiian mythology and folklore, Healani was sometimes used as a name for celestial beings or deities associated with the heavens and stars. It was also a name given to children who were born under auspicious celestial events or omens, as the Hawaiians believed that these children had a special connection to the divine realms.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Healani can be found in the sacred chants and oral traditions of the Hawaiian people, which were passed down through generations of storytellers and keepers of the ancient knowledge.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Healani. One such person was Healani Kamakawiwo'ole, a renowned Hawaiian musician and singer who lived from 1973 to 1997. His powerful voice and soulful renditions of traditional Hawaiian songs helped to revive and preserve the island's musical heritage.
Another famous Healani was Healani Desha, a Hawaiian princess and philanthropist who lived from 1909 to 1995. She dedicated her life to promoting Hawaiian culture, arts, and education, and played a significant role in the establishment of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
In the early 20th century, Healani Kamau'u was a respected Hawaiian scholar and author who worked tirelessly to document and preserve the Hawaiian language and cultural traditions. Her publications, including dictionaries and grammars, remain invaluable resources for scholars and language learners alike.
Healani Cummings, born in 1948, is a renowned Hawaiian hula dancer and kumu hula (hula teacher). She has dedicated her life to perpetuating the traditional hula and ensuring its preservation for future generations.
Lastly, Healani Waialeale, who lived from 1920 to 2002, was a revered Hawaiian healer and practitioner of traditional Hawaiian medicine. She was widely respected for her knowledge of medicinal plants and her ability to connect with the spiritual realms to facilitate healing.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the beautiful name Healani throughout history, each making their mark in preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands.
People
Healani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Healani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Healani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Healani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Healani 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Healani a common name?
We classify Healani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 92 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Healani most popular?
The single biggest year for Healani was 2018, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Healani is about 7 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 Healani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Healani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Healani 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 Healani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Healani 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 Healani 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 Americans are named Healani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.