Kehaulani
A feminine Hawaiian name meaning "the beautiful red rain or rainbows".
Name Census estimates that about 317 living Americans carry the first name Kehaulani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kehaulani today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kehaulani births was 1997 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kehaulani. 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
317
~ 1 in 1,081,244 Americans
Peak year
1997
16 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,793
Tracked since 1964
Census
Kehaulani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 330 people with the first name Kehaulani, which placed it at #27,622 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,622
National first-name rank
People counted
330
330 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
38.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kehaulani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kehaulani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (36.7%) and Hispanic (16.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kehaulani described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kehaulani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.2% · 126
- Two or more races36.7% · 121
- Hispanic or Latino16.1% · 53
- White6.1% · 20
- Black or African American1.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Kehaulani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kehaulani from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 91 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kehaulani 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 Kehaulani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kehaulanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kehaulani
The name Kehaulani originates from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a combination of two words, "ke" meaning "the" and "hau lani" meaning "heavenly dew." This name was likely given to children born during or after a gentle rain, connecting them to the refreshing and nourishing qualities of the heavenly dew.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kehaulani can be traced back to the late 18th century, during the reign of King Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian Islands. However, the name itself is believed to have existed long before that period, as it reflects the deep connection between the Hawaiian people and their natural environment.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Kehaulani was Kehaulani Kekuanaoa, a high-ranking Hawaiian chiefess born in 1825. She was the daughter of Kalanimoku, a prominent advisor to King Kamehameha I, and played a significant role in preserving Hawaiian culture and traditions during the tumultuous period of Western influence.
Another notable figure in Hawaiian history was Kehaulani Hao, born in 1892. She was a renowned hula dancer and teacher who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the traditional Hawaiian dance form. Her contributions helped to ensure that the art of hula was passed down to future generations.
In the 20th century, Kehaulani Kekua, born in 1923, was a respected Hawaiian educator and author. She wrote several books on Hawaiian culture, language, and history, serving as an important voice in preserving and sharing the rich heritage of her people.
Kehaulani Filimoeatu, born in 1961, was a celebrated Tongan-Hawaiian musician and singer. She was known for her powerful voice and her ability to seamlessly blend traditional Hawaiian and contemporary styles, helping to introduce Hawaiian music to a wider audience.
Kehaulani Kealoha, born in 1967, is a contemporary Hawaiian artist and cultural practitioner. Her work encompasses various mediums, including painting, sculpture, and traditional Hawaiian crafts, and she has dedicated her career to promoting and preserving the indigenous arts of Hawaii.
These individuals, spanning multiple generations, exemplify the enduring significance of the name Kehaulani within Hawaiian culture. Their contributions have helped to preserve and celebrate the rich traditions and heritage of the Hawaiian people, ensuring that the name continues to carry meaning and importance for generations to come.
People
Kehaulani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kehaulani 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
Kehaulani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kehaulani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 317 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kehaulani 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 1,081,244 US residents.
Is Kehaulani a common name?
We classify Kehaulani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 331 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kehaulani most popular?
The single biggest year for Kehaulani was 1997, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kehaulani is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kehaulani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 330 people with the name Kehaulani, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,622 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kehaulani in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kehaulani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kehaulani appears almost entirely female. Of the 326 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kehaulani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kehaulani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 38.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (36.7%) and Hispanic (16.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kehaulani most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Kehaulani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.2% (126 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Kehaulani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kehaulani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kehaulani 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 Kehaulani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kehaulani 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 Kehaulani 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.
How many people have the name Kehaulani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.