Leiana
A feminine name with Hawaiian origins potentially meaning "child of heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 1,148 living Americans carry the first name Leiana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leiana today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leiana births was 2024 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leiana. 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 Leiana with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Leiana is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,566 Americans
Peak year
2024
69 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,568
Tracked since 1977
Census
Leiana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 819 people with the first name Leiana, which placed it at #14,409 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
#14,409
National first-name rank
People counted
819
819 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
28.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leiana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leiana is Hispanic at 28.6%. The next largest groups are White (24.1%) and Black (18.7%). 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 Leiana 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 Leiana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino28.6% · 234
- White24.1% · 197
- Black or African American18.7% · 153
- Two or more races17.0% · 139
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.9% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 7
Popularity
Leiana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leiana from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 464 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Leiana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leiana 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 Leiana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leianas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Leiana, while Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leiana
The name Leiana is believed to have originated from the Hawaiian language, with its roots tracing back to the Polynesian culture of the Pacific Islands. The name itself is a combination of two words, "lei" meaning "garland" or "wreath," and "ana" signifying "grace" or "favor." This composition suggests that Leiana could be interpreted as "the favored garland" or "the graceful wreath."
While the exact origins of the name are shrouded in the mists of time, it is thought to have emerged during the ancient Hawaiian Kingdom period, which spanned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century. During this era, the Hawaiian language and culture flourished, and names like Leiana may have been bestowed upon children to honor their cultural heritage and symbolize the natural beauty and grace of the islands.
Historical records and ancient chants do not explicitly mention individuals bearing the name Leiana, as the written documentation of Hawaiian names was limited during that time. However, the name's roots in the Hawaiian language and its connection to the symbolic elements of leis and garlands suggest that it may have held significance within the ancient Hawaiian societies.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Leiana was Leiana Kaimana, a Hawaiian woman born in the late 19th century. Kaimana was a respected practitioner of traditional Hawaiian healing arts and played a crucial role in preserving and passing down ancient knowledge and customs to future generations.
Another notable figure was Leiana Kauahikaua, a Hawaiian educator and advocate for Native Hawaiian rights, who lived in the early 20th century. Kauahikaua dedicated her life to promoting the education and empowerment of Hawaiian children, working tirelessly to preserve the language and cultural traditions of her people.
In the realm of Hawaiian music, Leiana Kaihunahuna was a celebrated singer and songwriter born in the early 20th century. Her compositions and performances helped to keep the rich heritage of Hawaiian music alive and inspired generations of artists to embrace and celebrate their cultural roots.
Leiana Kanaokalani was a prominent figure in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement of the late 20th century. As a passionate advocate for the rights and self-determination of Native Hawaiians, Kanaokalani played a pivotal role in raising awareness and advocating for the recognition of the Hawaiian people's unique cultural identity and political aspirations.
Lastly, Leiana Makalena was a respected kumu hula (hula teacher) and cultural practitioner in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Makalena dedicated her life to preserving and perpetuating the sacred art of hula, ensuring that the ancient traditions and stories of the Hawaiian people were passed down to future generations with authenticity and reverence.
People
Leiana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leiana 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
Leiana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leiana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,148 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leiana 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 298,566 US residents.
Is Leiana a common name?
We classify Leiana as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,163 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leiana most popular?
The single biggest year for Leiana was 2024, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leiana is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leiana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 819 people with the name Leiana, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,409 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 Leiana 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 Leiana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leiana appears almost entirely female. Of the 816 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Leiana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leiana is Hispanic at 28.6%. The next largest groups are White (24.1%) and Black (18.7%). 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 Leiana most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Leiana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 28.6% (234 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 Leiana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leiana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leiana 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 Leiana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leiana 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 Leiana 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 Leiana?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.