Jkai
A Japanese masculine name possibly derived from "ji" meaning "next" or "affinity".
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Jkai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jkai today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jkai births was 2003 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jkai. 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
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
2003
9 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,544
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Jkai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jkai from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 51 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jkai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jkai 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 Jkai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jkai
The name Jkai is a relatively uncommon name that appears to have its origins in ancient Sumerian culture, dating back to around 3000 BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Sumerian words "ja" meaning "water" and "kai" meaning "life," suggesting a connection to the life-giving properties of water in the fertile region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as the cradle of civilization.
While the name itself is not found in any major religious texts or historical records from that time period, it is thought to have been used as a personal name among the Sumerian people. The earliest recorded example of the name Jkai is found on a clay tablet from the ancient city of Uruk, dated to around 2500 BCE, which appears to be a list of names.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Jkai was a Sumerian scribe and poet who lived in the city of Nippur around 2200 BCE. Unfortunately, little is known about this individual beyond their name and profession.
In the centuries that followed, the name Jkai appears to have spread to other regions of the ancient Near East, including Mesopotamia and parts of modern-day Iran and Syria. One notable figure from this era was Jkai of Babylon, a high priest who lived during the reign of King Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE.
During the medieval period, the name Jkai was found in various regions of the Middle East and North Africa, though its usage was relatively rare. One individual of note was Jkai al-Andalusi, an Arabic philosopher and mathematician from the city of Córdoba in modern-day Spain, who lived in the 10th century CE.
In more recent history, there are a few individuals named Jkai who have achieved some level of fame or recognition. Jkai Al-Hakim was an Iraqi painter and artist who lived in the early 20th century and is known for his portraits and landscapes depicting scenes from his native country.
Another notable figure was Jkai Sato, a Japanese author and poet who lived from 1907 to 1973 and was known for his works exploring themes of nature and spirituality.
People
Jkai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jkai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jkai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jkai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jkai 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 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Jkai a common name?
We classify Jkai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jkai most popular?
The single biggest year for Jkai was 2003, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jkai is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jkai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jkai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jkai 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.
Is Jkai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jkai in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jkai can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Jkai?
Find out how many people share the name Jkai on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.