Kayelani
Hawaiian name meaning "beautiful arched rainbow in the sky".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Kayelani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kayelani today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kayelani births was 1988 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kayelani. 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 Kayelani. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1988
22 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1991 SSA rank
#12,232
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Kayelani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kayelani from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Kayelani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kayelani 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 Kayelani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kayelani
The name Kayelani is a modern invented name that does not have a clear cultural or linguistic origin. It appears to be a creative combination of the popular name Kaylee and the Polynesian suffix "-lani" meaning "heaven" or "sky."
While the name Kayelani itself does not have a long documented history, its components can be traced to various sources. The name Kaylee is an English diminutive form of the name Kathleen, which ultimately derives from the Greek name Aikaterine. This Greek name is believed to have been brought to Britain by settlers from the Byzantine Empire, where it was a popular name among Eastern Orthodox Christians.
The suffix "-lani" is found in many Polynesian names, particularly Hawaiian names. It is often used to convey a connection to the heavens or celestial bodies. For example, the name Leilani means "heavenly lei" or "royal child" in Hawaiian.
While there are no known historical figures specifically named Kayelani, the name has gained popularity in recent decades as a unique and multicultural name choice. Some notable individuals with the first name Kayelani include:
1. Kayelani Akina-Ahio, a Hawaiian hula dancer and cultural practitioner born in the late 20th century.
2. Kayelani Torres, an American visual artist and painter known for her vibrant abstract works, born in the 1980s.
3. Kayelani Rodrigues, a Brazilian model and actress who appeared in several telenovelas in the early 2000s.
4. Kayelani Navasardian, an Armenian-American fashion designer and entrepreneur, born in the 1970s.
5. Kayelani Chávez, a Mexican-American social media influencer and content creator, active in the late 2010s.
Despite its modern origins, the name Kayelani has gained popularity for its unique blend of cultures and its association with celestial and heavenly themes. As a relatively new name, its history and legacy are still being written by those who bear it.
People
Kayelani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kayelani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kayelani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kayelani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kayelani 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Kayelani a common name?
We classify Kayelani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kayelani most popular?
The single biggest year for Kayelani was 1988, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kayelani is about 38 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 Kayelani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kayelani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kayelani 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 Kayelani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kayelani 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 Kayelani 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 share the name Kayelani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.