Explore the Family Name Lani

The meaning of Lani

1. Italian: patronymic or plural form of Lano. 2. Italian: derivative of lana ‘wool’, probably a metonymic occupational name for a wool merchant. 3. Albanian: from the personal name Lan (definite form Lani), a variant of Llan, which is a short form of Asllan ‘lion’ (see Asllani).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Lani in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Lani saw a slight increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 60,706th most common surname, but by 2010, it had risen slightly to 60,045th place, marking a change of around 1.09%. The number of people with this surname also increased from 310 in 2000 to 336 in 2010, a growth of about 8.39%. However, its proportion per 100,000 remained steady at 0.11, indicating that its overall prevalence remained relatively unchanged.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#60,706	#60,045	1.09%
Count	310	336	8.39%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.11	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Lani

As for ethnic identity associated with the surname Lani, data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals with Asian/Pacific Islander heritage decreased from 19.03% to 14.58%, a drop of 23.38%. On the other hand, those identifying as having two or more races increased from 10% to 12.5%, marking a 25% rise. The percentage of White individuals also saw a small increase from 62.26% to 64.29%, while the Hispanic representation grew from 4.84% to 5.95%. There were no recorded instances of individuals with Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity bearing the Lani surname during these years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	62.26%	64.29%	3.26%
Asian/Pacific Islander	19.03%	14.58%	-23.38%
Two or More Races	10%	12.5%	25%
Hispanic	4.84%	5.95%	22.93%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%