Skai
A variant spelling of the English word "sky".
Name Census estimates that about 1,056 living Americans carry the first name Skai. It is a predominantly female name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Skai today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Skai births was 2021 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Skai. 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
- • Skai is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 324,578 Americans
Peak year
2021
103 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,519
Tracked since 1993
Gender
Gender distribution for Skai
Skai leans heavily female at 92.9% of total registrations, but 76 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Skai as a male name
- Ranked #10,722 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (11 births)
Skai as a female name
- Ranked #2,519 in 2024
- 71 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (92 births)
Popularity
Skai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Skai 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 491 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
Skai 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 Skai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Skais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Florida, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Skai, while Missouri, Michigan, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Skai
The name Skai is believed to have its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia during the Viking Age (around 800-1050 AD). It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "skȳ," which means "cloud" or "sky."
In ancient Norse mythology, the sky was seen as a vast and powerful realm, governed by the gods and populated by various celestial beings. The name Skai may have been given to children as a way of honoring the sky and its mystical significance in Norse culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Skai can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which are a collection of historical tales and legends written in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Saga of Erik the Red, there is a character named Skai Eriksson, who was a Norse explorer and one of the first Europeans to set foot in North America.
Throughout history, the name Skai has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Skai Labrie (1888-1968), a French-Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens in the early 20th century and was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Another notable figure was Skai Remington (1921-2003), an American artist and painter who was known for her vibrant abstract works and was a prominent figure in the New York art scene of the mid-20th century.
In the field of literature, Skai Kincaid (1954-2008) was an American author and poet who wrote several acclaimed collections of poetry and was a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.
In the realm of music, Skai Jackson (born 1992) is a contemporary American singer, actress, and author who rose to fame as a child star on the Disney Channel and has since released several successful albums and authored a book.
Finally, Skai Nielson (1946-2021) was a Danish engineer and entrepreneur who founded one of the world's leading manufacturers of wind turbines and was a pioneer in the field of renewable energy.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Skai, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of the name's legacy.
People
Skai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Skai as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Skai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Skai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,056 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Skai 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 324,578 US residents.
Is Skai a common name?
We classify Skai as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,064 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Skai most popular?
The single biggest year for Skai was 2021, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Skai is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Skai a female name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Skai 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.