Malani is a distinctive girls' name in United States, ranking #1188 in 2016 with 210 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2024 with 938 births ranking #331. Since 1996, the popularity has increased by 2,233.3%. In 2016, approximately 1 in every 8,436 girls born was named Malani. STABLE Recent data shows the name is currently stable.
Malani appears to be a modern English name rather than a long traditional one. Behind the Name treats it as a possible Melanie variant shaped by the Hawaiian name element lani, which gives the name a more specific explanation than the earlier generic tropical wording.
The name fits a recent pattern of English-language names built by adapting familiar classics and blending them with sounds from Hawaiian-style names. That makes it modern and stylistic, but not simply invented from nowhere.