Ailani is a Hawaiian name that is usually explained as "high chief" or "chief of the heavens", from alii, chief, and lani, sky or heaven. Like Leilani and Kalani it has spread far beyond Hawaii as parents look for soft, vowel-rich names. Ailani ranked 1199th in the United States in 2015, entered the top 1000 in 2016 and made a huge leap in the last year alone, from number 327 in 2024 to number 168 in 2025.