Kai
Masculine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 73,735 living Americans carry the first name Kai. It sits at #76 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Kai today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kai births was 2022 (5,724 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Tom (73,314).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kai. 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
- • Kai is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
74K
~ 1 in 4,648 Americans
Peak year
2022
5,724 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#76
Tracked since 1926
Gender
Gender distribution for Kai
Kai leans heavily male at 89.0% of total registrations, but 8,243 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kai as a male name
- Ranked #76 in 2024
- 4,276 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (5,366 births)
Kai as a female name
- Ranked #1,133 in 2024
- 213 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (371 births)
Popularity
Kai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kai from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 28,996 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kai 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 Kai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Kai, while Wyoming, Vermont, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,377 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kai
The name Kai has its origins in a variety of languages and cultures across the world. It is believed to have derived from the Hawaiian word "kai," which means "sea" or "ocean." This connection to the natural world has given the name a sense of beauty and strength.
In Japanese, the name Kai can be written with the kanji characters 海 (meaning "ocean") or 開 (meaning "open" or "begin"). This suggests associations with new beginnings, expansiveness, and the vastness of the sea. The name has been popular in Japan for centuries and has been borne by notable figures such as Kai Shiden, a 16th-century samurai warrior.
The name Kai also has roots in Scandinavia, where it is derived from the Old Norse word "kær," meaning "beloved" or "affectionate." In this context, the name carries a sense of warmth and endearment. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Icelandic Sagas, where Kai Øvundsson was a prominent figure in the 13th century.
In Greek mythology, Kai was the name of one of the Titans, the primordial deities who ruled the cosmos before the Olympian gods. This association with ancient mythology and cosmic power has imbued the name with a sense of grandeur and timelessness.
Moving through history, we find notable individuals bearing the name Kai. In the 17th century, Kai Lykke was a renowned Danish naval admiral who played a pivotal role in the Kalmar War against Sweden. In the world of literature, Kai Hōffding was a Danish philosopher and psychologist who lived from 1853 to 1928 and made significant contributions to the field of ethics.
Another historical figure of note is Kai Hwang, a Chinese-American computer scientist born in 1936, who is widely recognized for his pioneering work in parallel processing and computer architecture. His contributions have had a lasting impact on the field of computer engineering.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and diverse cultural influences that have shaped the name Kai over the centuries. From its roots in Hawaiian and Japanese traditions to its Norse origins and connections to Greek mythology, the name has carried a tapestry of meanings and associations, making it a timeless and evocative choice.
People
Kai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73,735 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kai 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 4,648 US residents.
Is Kai a common name?
We classify Kai as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74,652 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kai most popular?
The single biggest year for Kai was 2022, when 5,724 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kai is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kai a male name?
Yes, 89.0% of people registered as Kai 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.