Leilahni
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin, meaning "heavenly lei".
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the first name Leilahni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leilahni today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leilahni births was 2023 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leilahni. 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
119
~ 1 in 2,880,289 Americans
Peak year
2023
26 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,709
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Leilahni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leilahni from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 76 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leilahni 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 Leilahni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leilahnis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leilahni
The name Leilahni is a modern amalgamation of two Hawaiian names - Leilani and Leila. The name Leilani is derived from the Hawaiian words "lei" meaning "flower garland" and "lani" meaning "heavenly." It is a relatively recent name, believed to have been coined in the late 19th or early 20th century as a way to honor the beauty of the Hawaiian islands and its floral abundance.
The name Leila, on the other hand, has Arabic roots and means "night" or "born at night." It is a variant of the name Layla, which has been popular in the Middle East for centuries and is often associated with the famous love story of Layla and Majnun, a classic tale of tragic romance from ancient Arabia.
While there are no records of the name Leilahni appearing in ancient texts or historical records, the individual components of the name have been present in various cultures for a long time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leilani can be found in the 1925 novel "The Bright Shawl" by Joseph Hergesheimer, where the author used it for a Hawaiian character.
As for notable individuals with the name Leilahni, there are a few examples throughout history. Leilahni Kai Pamela Young (born 1990) is an American model and actress, best known for her role in the TV series "Hawaii Five-0." Leilahni Salinas (born 1992) is a professional soccer player from the United States who has played for the Philippines national team.
Another person of note is Leilahni Lyman-Akana (born 1985), a Hawaiian singer and songwriter who has released several albums celebrating her cultural heritage. Leilahni Farha (born 1987) is a Canadian human rights lawyer and the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing.
Lastly, Leilahni Swinford (born 1989) is an American athlete who competed in the sport of pole vaulting and represented the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
People
Leilahni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leilahni 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
Leilahni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leilahni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leilahni 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 2,880,289 US residents.
Is Leilahni a common name?
We classify Leilahni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leilahni most popular?
The single biggest year for Leilahni was 2023, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leilahni is about 6 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 Leilahni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leilahni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leilahni 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 Leilahni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leilahni 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 Leilahni 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 Americans are named Leilahni?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.