Zalani

Possibly drawn from the Arabic Jilani (also spelled Jelani), though equally likely to be a pseudo-Hawaiian name, blending the -lani suffix with the popular prefix Za-.

In the first case, the name is associated with the 12th century Sufi scholar, Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani and has been used by the African American community after it was featured in an article back in the 70s about African baby names. Some suggest the scholar's name means he lived near the town of Gilan, while others connect it with the meaning "mighty" by following the roots and history of Gilan, right back to its to the Arabic Qādūsīān.

The alterative is that Zalani is simply a modern creation, adapted from the likes of Kalani, Leilani, and Kehlani, whose end element means "heaven" in Hawaiian.

Pronounced zuh-LAH-nee.

As of October 2026, Zalani ranked #2275 in US births in 2025 SSA.