Calani is a modern spelling of the Hawaiian name Kalani, which means "the heavens" or "the sky" and in Hawaiian tradition suggests royal status; the C makes it look like Cali and Calla. It belongs to the wave of Hawaiian-sounding names that also carried Kehlani and Leilani up the charts. In the United States Calani ranked number 8085 in 2015, peaked at number 2493 in 2022 and stood at number 2615 in 2025 with 66 girls.