Kalani

See also: kalani and kālani

English

Etymology

From Hawaiian Kalani.

Proper noun

Kalani (plural Kalanis)

1. A unisex given name from Hawaiian.
   • 2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine‎^[1]:

     Kalani Wright, a 24-year old^[sic] from Mississippi, wanted to have Lipo 360, a procedure that removes fat from all areas of the midsection, and a B.B.L. last year.

2. A surname from Hawaiian.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Kalani is the 41359^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 526 individuals. Kalani is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (46.01%), Mixed Race (26.81%) and White (20.72%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Kalani”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 266.

Hawaiian

Etymology

ka (“the”) + lani (“heavens; sky; king, queen”) meaning "the heavens", "sky", "royal one", or "chief". Also short for many compound names beginning with Kalani-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈla.ni/, [kəˈlɐ.ni]

Proper noun

Kalani

1. a male or (less commonly) female given name from Hawaiian
2. a surname

References

• Hawaii State Archives: Marriage records Kalani occurs in 19th century marriage records as the only name of 6 women and 17 men.
• Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names by State: included in the top hundred first names for boys born in the State of Hawaii in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1990, 1994, and 2005.