Leilanie
A feminine name with varied origins, possibly meaning "heavenly" or "child of heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 927 living Americans carry the first name Leilanie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leilanie today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leilanie births was 2013 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leilanie. 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
927
~ 1 in 369,746 Americans
Peak year
2013
55 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,327
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Leilanie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leilanie from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 448 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Leilanie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leilanie 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 Leilanie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leilanies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Leilanie, while Illinois, Arizona, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 76 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leilanie
The name Leilanie is a variation of the Hawaiian name Leilani, which means "heavenly lei" or "royal child." It is derived from the Hawaiian words "lei," meaning a flower garland or wreath, and "lani," meaning heaven or royalty.
The name Leilani has been in use in Hawaii for centuries, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Hawaiian culture and traditions. The name was often given to children born into the royal families or to those considered to have a special connection with the divine.
While the name Leilani has been recorded in various historical documents and texts related to Hawaiian culture, the earliest documented use of the variant spelling Leilanie is relatively recent. It is believed to have emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century as a creative spelling variation of the original Hawaiian name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leilanie was Princess Leilanie, a member of the Hawaiian royal family who lived in the late 19th century. She was the daughter of Prince David Kawānanakoa and Princess Abigail Campbell.
Another notable figure with the name Leilanie was Leilanie Maka'iolani Hoag (1921-2001), a Hawaiian hula dancer and teacher who played a significant role in preserving and promoting traditional Hawaiian dance and culture.
In the world of literature, the name Leilanie appeared in the novel "The Rapture of Leilanie" by Myriam S. Villanueva, published in 2002. The book explores the life of a young Filipino-American woman named Leilanie and her quest for self-discovery.
Other historical figures who bore the name Leilanie include Leilanie Pupuhi (1903-1987), a Hawaiian actress and dancer, and Leilanie Dowding (born 1980), a British model and television personality.
While the name Leilanie has its roots in Hawaiian culture, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States, where it is often chosen as a creative variation of the more common name Leilani.
People
Leilanie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leilanie 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
Leilanie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leilanie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 927 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leilanie 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 369,746 US residents.
Is Leilanie a common name?
We classify Leilanie 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, 936 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leilanie most popular?
The single biggest year for Leilanie was 2013, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leilanie is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leilanie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leilanie 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.
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.