Kelani is a modern American name in the style of Hawaiian names such as Leilani and Kalani; it is usually read as Hawaiian ke lani, "the heavens" or "the royal one". Its rise followed that of singer Kehlani, whose spelling is the more common one. Kelani climbed from number 7372 in 2000 to a peak of number 1252 in 2020 and ranks number 1542 among US girls' names in 2025.