Dalai
A Tibetan name meaning "ocean" or "oceanic teacher".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Dalai. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dalai today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalai births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalai. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dalai. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#18,169
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Dalai: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dalai by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dalai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalai
The name Dalai has its origins in the Mongolian language and culture, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Mongolian word "Dalaï," which means "ocean" or "vast." The name was first used as a title for the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, known as the Dalai Lama.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dalai can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, where it was used to describe the vast wisdom and compassion of the Dalai Lama. The first person to hold the title of Dalai Lama was Gedun Drub (1391-1474), a Tibetan Buddhist monk who was recognized as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dalai, including:
1. Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588), the 3rd Dalai Lama, who was instrumental in establishing the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
2. Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617), the 4th Dalai Lama, who is credited with introducing the first printed books in Tibet.
3. Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682), the 5th Dalai Lama, who played a significant role in unifying Tibet and establishing the Ganden Phodrang government.
4. Tsangyang Gyatso (1683-1706), the 6th Dalai Lama, who was known for his poetry and love of the arts.
5. Khedrup Gyatso (1838-1856), the 11th Dalai Lama, who faced political turmoil and conflict during his reign.
The name Dalai has become synonymous with the spiritual and political leadership of Tibet, and its use is primarily associated with the Dalai Lama lineage. While the name has gained global recognition, its roots can be traced back to the Mongolian language and the rich cultural heritage of the Tibetan Buddhists.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dalai
People
Dalai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dalai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalai going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Dalai a common name?
We classify Dalai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalai most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalai was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalai is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dalai a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dalai in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.