Kaelani is a modern spelling of Kailani and Kalani, Hawaiian names built from kai, "sea", and lani, "heaven" or "sky", so it is read as "sea and sky" or "heavenly sea". The ae spelling follows Kaelyn and Kaelee and arrived with the wave of -lani names after Kehlani. Kaelani stood at number 3559 in 2015, peaked at number 1590 in 2023 and ranks 1824 in 2025.