Nelani
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "beautiful sky".
Name Census estimates that about 182 living Americans carry the first name Nelani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nelani today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nelani births was 2020 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nelani. 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
182
~ 1 in 1,883,266 Americans
Peak year
2020
27 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,384
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Nelani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nelani 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 93 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
Nelani 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 Nelani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nelani
The name Nelani is believed to have originated from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is derived from the Hawaiian words "nelu," meaning "beautiful," and "ani," meaning "wave" or "ocean." The name is thought to have been used as early as the 18th century, when the Hawaiian islands were first being explored and documented by European explorers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nelani can be found in the journals of Captain James Cook, who visited the Hawaiian islands in 1778. In his writings, Cook mentions a young woman he encountered who was referred to as "Nelani." This suggests that the name was in use among the indigenous Hawaiian population at that time.
Throughout the 19th century, the name Nelani became more widely known and documented, particularly in the writings of missionaries and early Hawaiian scholars who were studying the language and culture of the islands. Several notable Hawaiian women from this period bore the name, including Nelani Kealoha (1820-1892), a respected healer and practitioner of traditional Hawaiian medicine.
In the 20th century, the name Nelani gained popularity outside of Hawaii, particularly in the United States and other parts of the world with significant Hawaiian or Polynesian diaspora communities. One notable figure was Nelani Kapauhi (1910-1998), a Hawaiian dancer and cultural ambassador who helped to popularize traditional Hawaiian dance and music around the world.
Other notable individuals named Nelani throughout history include Nelani Kaʻapuni (1855-1932), a Hawaiian musician and composer; Nelani Makalani (1875-1942), a Hawaiian activist and advocate for Native Hawaiian rights; and Nelani Kinimaka (1890-1967), a Hawaiian artist and sculptor.
While the name Nelani has its roots in Hawaiian culture and language, it has since been adopted and used by people of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, particularly those with an appreciation for its beautiful and meaningful origins.
People
Nelani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelani as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nelani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nelani 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 1,883,266 US residents.
Is Nelani a common name?
We classify Nelani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 183 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nelani most popular?
The single biggest year for Nelani was 2020, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nelani is about 8 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 Nelani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nelani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nelani 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 Nelani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nelani 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 Nelani 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 Nelani?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Nelani at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.