Hai
A Vietnamese unisex name meaning "ocean" or "maritime".
Name Census estimates that about 565 living Americans carry the first name Hai. It is a predominantly male name (96.4% of registrations). The average person named Hai today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hai births was 1983 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hai. 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.
People living today
565
~ 1 in 606,645 Americans
Peak year
1983
50 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2015 SSA rank
#7,629
Tracked since 1975
Gender
Gender distribution for Hai
Hai leans heavily male at 96.4% of total registrations, but 21 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hai as a male name
- Ranked #9,036 in 2015
- 8 male births in 2015
- Peak: 1983 (44 births)
Hai as a female name
- Ranked #7,629 in 1984
- 8 female births in 1984
- Peak: 1984 (8 births)
Popularity
Hai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hai from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 310 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hai 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 Hai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Hai, while Louisiana, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hai
The name Hai has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "chai," which means "life" or "alive." The name has been in use since ancient times and is believed to have been first recorded in Hebrew scriptures and religious texts.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Hai can be found in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Ezra, where a man named Hai is mentioned as one of the Levites who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity in the 5th century BCE.
In the later centuries, the name Hai became popular among Jewish communities throughout Europe and the Middle East. One notable figure bearing this name was Hai Gaon, a renowned Jewish scholar and leader of the Academy of Sura in Babylonia, who lived from around 939 CE to 1038 CE.
Another prominent individual with the name Hai was Hai ben Sherira, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher from Mesopotamia who lived in the 10th century CE. He was known for his contributions to Talmudic literature and his works on Jewish law and philosophy.
In the 12th century CE, Hai ben Bakoudah was a renowned Jewish philosopher and poet from Spain. He was known for his works on ethics and philosophy, as well as his poetic contributions to the Hebrew liturgy.
Moving forward in history, Hai Gaon II was a prominent Jewish scholar and leader of the Academy of Sura in Babylonia, who lived in the late 11th century CE. He was known for his contributions to Talmudic studies and his efforts to revive the Academy of Sura during a period of decline.
In the 19th century, Hai Gaon III was a respected Jewish scholar and leader of the Jewish community in Baghdad, Iraq. He was known for his works on Jewish law and his efforts to promote Jewish education and scholarship in the region.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Hai, which has its roots in the ancient Hebrew language and culture, and has been associated with life, vitality, and scholarly pursuits within Jewish communities over the centuries.
People
Hai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 565 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hai 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 606,645 US residents.
Is Hai a common name?
We classify Hai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 588 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hai most popular?
The single biggest year for Hai was 1983, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hai is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hai a male name?
Yes, 96.4% of people registered as Hai in the SSA data are male. 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.