Ailani

Ailani rises from Hawaiian, drawing on lani, the word for sky or heaven, which runs through so many of the islands' most lyrical names. The ai- prefix lends it a feeling of chief or high-ranking one. Three soft syllables carry the cadence of palm fronds in a light trade wind. The name is a recent addition to American charts, sliding into the low 300s for girls as parents look toward Polynesian naming traditions for melody and meaning. Ailani has the airy, luminous quality of names drawn from sky and sea, a small piece of horizon written into a word.