Kailani is a Hawaiian name composed of kai, sea, and lani, sky or heaven, and means "sea and sky" or "heavenly sea". It is one of several Hawaiian names, with Leilani and Kalani, that mainland American parents adopted in the 2010s for their flowing sound. Kailani entered the US top 1000 in 2013, climbed from number 878 in 2015 to a peak of number 222 in 2022 and ranks number 253 among girls' names in 2025.