How popular is the name Jelani?

Jelani ranks 1,596th among boys' names in US records, with 5,542 births since 1973. Over the past decade it accounts for 1,013.

Is Jelani a unisex name?

No. Jelani is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

1998, when 151 children were given the name. It has been in use for 52 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Jeloni. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Boy name#1,596 of boy names

Pronounced JH IY1 L AA1 N IY0 (ARPABET)

Jelani is a boys' name, and first appears in 1973. It has been given to 5,542 children — the 1,596th most common boys' name on record.

Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1998, when 151 children were given it.

Jeloni is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

1998Boys: 151Girls: 22

These spellings sound identical to Jelani and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Jelani?: Jelani ranks 1,596th among boys' names in US records, with 5,542 births since 1973. Over the past decade it accounts for 1,013.
Is Jelani a unisex name?: No. Jelani is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Jelani most popular?: 1998, when 151 children were given the name. It has been in use for 52 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Jelani spelled?: Jeloni. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.