Ehlani is a modern American coinage built on the popular -lani ending of Hawaiian names such as Leilani and Kehlani, where lani means "heaven" or "sky". The spelling with Eh- has no traditional source and is best read as a fresh variation on those names. Ehlani appeared almost out of nowhere, jumping from outside the top 16,000 in 2019 to number 1,047 in 2021, and ranks number 1,231 among girls' names in 2025.