Lania
A feminine Hawaiian name meaning "to attain the heights".
Name Census estimates that about 929 living Americans carry the first name Lania. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lania today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lania births was 2005 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lania. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lania with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
929
~ 1 in 368,950 Americans
Peak year
2005
60 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,789
Tracked since 1962
Census
Lania in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 803 people with the first name Lania, which placed it at #14,613 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
#14,613
National first-name rank
People counted
803
803 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
63.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lania
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lania is Black at 63.0%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Lania 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 Lania at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.0% · 506
- White16.2% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 81
- Two or more races7.6% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 9
Popularity
Lania: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lania from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 423 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lania 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 Lania during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lanias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Ohio, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Lania, while North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lania
The name Lania is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language, where it was derived from the word "lania," meaning "woolen cloak" or "mantle." This name likely emerged during the classical period of ancient Greek civilization, which spanned from the 8th century BC to the 6th century AD.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to a nymph named Lania, who was said to be one of the followers of the goddess Artemis. This association with a mythological figure suggests that the name may have held cultural significance and was in use among the ancient Greeks.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lania can be found in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. He mentioned a woman named Lania in his accounts of the Persian Wars, though details about her life are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lania. One such person was Lania of Cyzicus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC and was a student of Plato's Academy in Athens. Her works, unfortunately, have been lost to time.
Another famous Lania was Lania of Thessaly, a renowned poet and musician who lived in the 3rd century BC. She was celebrated for her lyrical compositions and is mentioned in the writings of ancient Greek scholars such as Athenaeus.
In the 2nd century AD, there was a Roman woman named Lania Rufilla who became known for her patronage of the arts and literature. She was a wealthy and influential figure during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.
During the Byzantine era, a notable figure named Lania Synadene lived in the 6th century AD. She was a prominent scholar and theologian who contributed to the intellectual and religious discourse of her time.
Another example is Lania of Verona, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 12th century AD. She was known for her involvement in the political affairs of her city and her support for the arts and literature.
While the name Lania has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been used across various regions and time periods, reflecting the diverse histories and influences that have shaped the evolution of names throughout human civilization.
People
Lania + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lania as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lania: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lania?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 929 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lania 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 368,950 US residents.
Is Lania a common name?
We classify Lania as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 951 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lania most popular?
The single biggest year for Lania was 2005, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lania is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lania in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 803 people with the name Lania, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,613 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 Lania 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 Lania?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lania appears almost entirely female. Of the 808 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 Lania?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lania is Black at 63.0%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Lania most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lania in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.0% (506 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 Lania in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lania a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lania 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 Lania still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lania 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 Lania 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 are called Lania?
You can see how many Americans are named Lania on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.