Leilani

‘Heavenly garland’ or ‘royal child’, depending on the senses of its Hawaiian elements.

Leilani is a Hawaiian name with more than one closely connected reading. Lei can name a garland and can also refer affectionately to a child; lani can mean sky or heaven, with royal associations too. This gives interpretations such as ‘heavenly garland’ and ‘royal child’, rather than one interchangeable translation of every element. The garland image offers a particularly rich nature connection: an arrangement of flowers rather than a single bloom. Together with the sky meaning, it gives Leilani an expansive, lyrical feel. The repeated l sound carries that impression into its rhythm, with emphasis on the middle syllable in Hawaiian. The name is recorded for both feminine and masculine use.

Etymology: From Hawaiian lei, ‘garland’ and figuratively ‘beloved child’, with lani, ‘sky, heaven’ or ‘royal’.