Kelani

Kelani: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“uncertain; possibly heaven or sky associations”
Origin
Unknown
Say it
keh-LAH-nee · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls (96% of all uses)

Kelani is often used in modern naming and may be influenced by Hawaiian-looking formations such as Keilani or Leilani. This exact form does not have a single firmly established traditional etymology, so its origin is uncertain. The origin of this name is not settled among etymologists.

How popular is Kelani?

202450.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Kelani in 2024168

2024 rank#1,359 girls

Peak year2020

Total US babies since 18801,637

Kelani is rising: use over the last five years is 7.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Kelani

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Avauncertain; possibly bird or life · Unknown
  • Mayauncertain; often illusion or water · Unknown
  • Ailanyuncertain · Unknown
  • Alanauncertain; often linked to little rock or handsome · Unknown
  • Leiauncertain; often used as a form of Leah · Unknown
  • Londonfrom London, place name · Unknown
  • Nayeliuncertain; often said to mean I love you · Unknown
  • Elorauncertain; perhaps from Eliora or Laura · Unknown

Kelani questions

What does the name Kelani mean?

Kelani means "uncertain; possibly heaven or sky associations". It comes from Unknown. Kelani is often used in modern naming and may be influenced by Hawaiian-looking formations such as Keilani or Leilani. This exact form does not have a single firmly established traditional etymology, so its origin is uncertain.

Is Kelani a boy or girl name?

Kelani is mainly a girl's name in US records (96% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Kelani?

168 US babies were named Kelani in 2024. Its peak year was 2020.

How do you pronounce Kelani?

Kelani is usually pronounced keh-LAH-nee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.