Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | Hawaiian |
Meaning | “heavenly garland of flowers” or “royal child” |
Other names | |
Related names | Laylana, Laylani, Laylanie, Laylanii, Laylanni, Layliana, Layloni, Laylonie, Laylonni, Leelani, Leighlani, Leihlani, Leilahni, Leilana, Leilanee, Leilanie, Leilanni, Leilanii, Leilanny, Leilany, Leiliana, Leiloni, Lelani, Leliani, Leylani, Leylanie, Leylanni, Leylany |
Leilani is a Hawaiian given name meaning "heavenly garland of flowers" or "royal child". The Hawaiian word lei refers to flowers and lani to the sky or heavens, with an association to royalty.[1][2]
The name has increased in popularity in the United States in recent years. It first appeared among the top 1,000 names for American girls in 1937, the same year that the popular song recorded by Bing Crosby called Sweet Leilani was featured in the film Waikiki Wedding. It has since been in steady use. It has been among the 500 most popular names for newborn American girls since 2001 and was the 59th most popular name for girls in the United States in 2022. Phonetic, created spelling variants of the name are also in regular use.[3] [4] Leilani was among the five most popular names for Black newborn girls in the American state of Virginia in 2022.[5]