Iwalani
Hawaiian name meaning "heavenly splendor" or "celestial adornment".
Name Census estimates that about 98 living Americans carry the first name Iwalani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Iwalani today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iwalani births was 1975 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iwalani. 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 Iwalani. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
98
~ 1 in 3,497,493 Americans
Peak year
1975
11 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2019 SSA rank
#16,493
Tracked since 1961
Popularity
Iwalani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iwalani from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Iwalani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iwalani 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 Iwalani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Iwalanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Iwalani
The name Iwalani originates from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a compound word combining the elements "iwa" meaning "bird" and "lani" meaning "heaven" or "sky." Thus, the name Iwalani can be interpreted as "heavenly bird" or "bird of heaven."
The Hawaiian language and culture have a rich history dating back to the ancient Polynesian settlers who first colonized the Hawaiian Islands around the 4th century AD. Names like Iwalani reflect the deep connection these indigenous people had with nature and the spiritual world.
While the name Iwalani is not found in any ancient Hawaiian texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to be an authentic Hawaiian name that has been in use for centuries. The earliest recorded examples of the name are difficult to pinpoint due to the oral tradition of the Hawaiian culture, but it is likely that Iwalani has been used as a given name since the pre-colonial era.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Iwalani was Princess Iwalani Kaua'i, a member of the Hawaiian royal family who lived in the early 19th century. She was the daughter of King Kaumuali'i of Kaua'i and played a role in the transition of power as the Hawaiian Islands were unified under the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
Another notable Iwalani was Iwalani Naole, a Hawaiian historian, and educator born in 1897. She dedicated her life to preserving and promoting Hawaiian culture, language, and traditions through her work as a teacher and author.
In the 20th century, Iwalani Cook was a renowned Hawaiian hula dancer and choreographer. Born in 1930, she helped revive and popularize traditional Hawaiian hula and music both in Hawaii and internationally.
Iwalani Tsuda was a Japanese-Hawaiian artist and educator born in 1949. She is best known for her intricate quilt designs that incorporate traditional Hawaiian patterns and motifs.
Iwalani Kahakai was a Hawaiian activist and community leader born in 1952. She played a significant role in protecting and preserving native Hawaiian land rights and cultural practices, particularly in the Wai'anae region of O'ahu.
People
Iwalani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iwalani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iwalani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iwalani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 98 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iwalani 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 3,497,493 US residents.
Is Iwalani a common name?
We classify Iwalani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iwalani most popular?
The single biggest year for Iwalani was 1975, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iwalani is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Iwalani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iwalani 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.