Kai
The name Kai has various origins and meanings in different cultures:In Estonian, Kai is a female name derived from Katherine. In Persian, Kai, or Kay, is a male name, meaning "king". It is also the name of a mythological shah (king) in the Shahnameh. In Japanese, kai has a number of meanings, including "ocean" (海), "shell" (貝), etc. In Hawaiian, Kai is the word for “sea” in its language.
- Frisian
- German
- Danish
- Norwegian
Meaning & Origin of Kai
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
The name Kai has various origins and meanings in different cultures:In Estonian, Kai is a female name derived from Katherine. In Persian, Kai, or Kay, is a male name, meaning "king". It is also the name of a mythological shah (king) in the Shahnameh. In Japanese, kai has a number of meanings, including "ocean" (海), "shell" (貝), etc. In Hawaiian, Kai is the word for “sea” in its language.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Frisian
- German
- Danish
- Norwegian
- Swedish
- Finnish
- Dutch
- English
- Estonian
- Hawaiian
- Chinese
The Story of Kai
As a girl name
Kai first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1953, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2021: 371 births, good for #768 nationwide. About 35% of every Kai on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Kai ranks #1,158 for girls with 207 births, falling sharply (-25%). All told, over 9K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
The earliest SSA record of Kai as a boy name dates back to 1926, when 6 babies received it. 2022 was its biggest year on record, with 5,366 newborns named Kai — #59 in the national rankings. About 43% of every Kai on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Kai ranks #71 for boys with 4,799 births, rising sharply (+28% over the past five years). All told, over 76K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Kai
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Kai. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Kai
Phonetically similar names — useful when Kai is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Kai
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About the name Kai
Kai is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1926 and has accumulated 76K births in the dataset. Kai's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #59. Use the chart and map above to compare Kai's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2022 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "K" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.