Fun Facts About the Name Ailani
- More than 7 thousand babies named Ailani: U.S. records list 7,896 babies given the name Ailani from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Ailani - about 1 boy for every 1,578 girls.
What Does the Name Ailani Mean?
Ailani is a Hawaiian name usually glossed as "high chief" or "royal chief." Its second element matches Hawaiian lani, which means "sky" and "heaven" and is also used in names in the sense of "royal" or "chiefly." The first element is commonly connected with aliʻi, the Hawaiian word for a chief or noble, but the spelling Ailani does not match aliʻi exactly - it drops the glottal stop (ʻokina) and the doubled vowel. For that reason the exact Hawaiian form behind the name is not firmly established, and "high chief" is better described as a customary rendering than as a literal, word-for-word translation.
Ailani Name History & Origins
Ailani belongs to the large family of Hawaiian names formed with lani. That element appears in well-known names such as Kalani, Leilani, and Kailani, where it adds a sense of sky, heaven, or rank. Ailani follows the same general pattern of combining a descriptive or chiefly element with lani.
Hawaiian was mainly an oral language until the nineteenth century, when missionaries helped develop a written form using the Latin alphabet together with the ʻokina (glottal stop) and the kahakō (macron). Older forms of Hawaiian names are therefore described through those spelling conventions rather than through long written records, and English spellings like Ailani often simplify the Hawaiian marks. The name is used in Hawaii and has also been adopted by families in the mainland United States, where the spelling sometimes varies.
How Popular is the Name Ailani?
Ailani recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #168 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #168 | 1,807 | 0.1124% |
| 2024 | #325 | 946 | 0.0586% |
| 2023 | #592 | 506 | 0.0316% |
| 2022 | #467 | 679 | 0.0414% |
| 2021 | #532 | 581 | 0.0354% |
| 2020 | #541 | 556 | 0.0344% |
| 2019 | #685 | 423 | 0.0252% |
| 2018 | #761 | 358 | 0.0211% |
| 2017 | #951 | 277 | 0.0160% |
| 2016 | #915 | 301 | 0.0170% |
| 2015 | #1,200 | 208 | 0.0117% |
| 2014 | #1,892 | 106 | 0.0059% |
| 2013 | #2,385 | 76 | 0.0043% |
| 2012 | #2,080 | 92 | 0.0052% |
| 2011 | #1,886 | 106 | 0.0060% |
| 2010 | #2,137 | 92 | 0.0052% |
| 2009 | #1,875 | 112 | 0.0061% |
| 2008 | #2,206 | 90 | 0.0048% |
| 2007 | #1,804 | 118 | 0.0061% |
| 2006 | #1,701 | 123 | 0.0065% |
| 2005 | #1,838 | 106 | 0.0057% |
| 2004 | #2,175 | 82 | 0.0045% |
| 2003 | #3,044 | 49 | 0.0027% |
| 2002 | #4,772 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2001 | #6,075 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2000 | #5,314 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1999 | #7,245 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #14,165 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #9,823 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #10,588 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #12,365 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Ailani
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with A
How the Name Ailani Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Ailani's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Ailani's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.