boy's name
Kai
KY
- Origin multiple unrelated
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 118,443
the United States
#93
2025 births
Kai is a name that exists independently in many unrelated languages. It means "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese depending on the character used, "willow" or "victory" in Chinese, and it is also a Scandinavian and Frisian short form of Nicholas.
- Kai is a name of multiple unrelated origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 5,732 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 828 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1926.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kai over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 6 |
| 1930s | 6 |
| 1940s | 10 |
| 1950s | 181 |
| 1960s | 443 |
| 1970s | 1,021 |
| 1980s | 1,371 |
| 1990s | 3,545 |
| 2000s | 14,393 |
| 2010s | 29,004 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 28,730 |
What Kai means
Kai has no single meaning, because it is not one name. Hawaiian gives sea; Japanese gives several meanings depending on which character is written; Chinese gives victory or triumph; the Scandinavian line carries the meaning of Nicholas, victory of the people.
Where Kai comes from
Kai is one of the clearest cases of separate languages producing an identical short name. In Hawaiian, kai means sea or ocean and appears in many compound names. In Japanese it is a genuine name whose meaning depends entirely on the kanji chosen — different characters give ocean, forgiveness, recovery or shell, which is why sources list so many. In Chinese, kai can mean triumph or open. In Scandinavian and Frisian usage Kai is a short form of Nicholas, from the Greek meaning victory of the people. None of these is derived from any other. The name's rise in English-speaking countries draws on all of them at once.
Kai in use
In Japanese the meaning depends on which character is written, so two people named Kai may have names meaning entirely different things.
How popular is Kai?
In 2025, Kai was given to 4,002 babies in the United States, ranking #93 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Kai is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Kai is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Kaï | Kaï is Kai written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #1,266. | 135 |
Names that peaked alongside Kai
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kai also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kai over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kai in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Kai
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kai — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kai
What does the name Kai mean?
It depends on the language — sea in Hawaiian, various meanings in Japanese depending on the character, victory in Chinese, and a short form of Nicholas in Scandinavian.
Is Kai Hawaiian or Japanese?
Both, independently. The name arose separately in several unrelated languages.
Why does Kai have so many meanings?
Because it is several unrelated names that happen to share a spelling — and in Japanese the meaning depends on the written character.
How popular is the name Kai?
In 2025, Kai was given to 4,002 babies in the United States, ranking #93 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Kai a girl's or a boy's name?
Kai is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Kai?
Kai has 1 syllable.
When was Kai most popular?
Kai peaked in 2022, when 5,732 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Kai a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kai currently ranks #34 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.