How rare is the name Lani?

7,463 people in the United States have the first name Lani, about 1 in 40,471. It ranks #3,000 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

LANI

#3,000

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
7,463
About
1 in 40,471
This common or more
81.4%
Who bears it

Of the 7,463 people named Lani, 53.2% reported their origin as White, 21.6% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 10.9% as Hispanic or Latino. 96.6% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Lani peaked in 1979, when 143 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19172025
Peak year
1979
Births that year
143
In 2025*
131 ▼8%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 7,556 babies have been given the name since 1917. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Lani by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #1,737. The largest share of babies named Lani, 23.2%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1910s#11,6155
1920s#12,17210
1930s#7,31637
1940s#1,787643
1950s#1,737938
1960s#1,887918
1970s#2,061921
1980s#2,401849
1990s#3,380703
2000s#3,0191,155
2010s#4,233762
2020s#3,505615
Greatest Generation 1901–270.2%
Silent Generation 1928–454.5%
Baby boom 1946–6423.2%
Generation X 1965–8019.9%
Millennials 1981–9616.3%
Generation Z 1997–1220.8%
2013 and later15.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Lani is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Lani has been most common in Hawaii (41×), California (4.4×), and Louisiana (1.9×), and least common in Pennsylvania (0.17×).

3,469 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Lani

1 other first name also has 7,463 people.

#3,000 Karon · 7,463

Either side of Lani

#2,999 Zain · 7,470#3,000 Karon · 7,463#3,002 Abner · 7,461#3,003 Essence · 7,458

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lani, most common first.

#923 Lana · 48,612#1,061 Lane · 39,308#1,923 Lan · 14,674#4,052 Lanie · 4,786#11,873 Lanh · 1,064#14,563 Lania · 808#21,875 Lanai · 460#22,540 Lany · 441

Also a last name

As a last name, Lani ranks #55,082 of 156,621, with 403 people. See Lani as a last name

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