NameTides

Kai

Kai was the #93 boys' name in the US in 2025 (3,768 babies), and #78 in England & Wales and #60 in Canada.

Kai as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
  • VIC
Kai as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020IrelandNorthern IrelandScotlandCanadaEngland & WalesUS
Kai as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.5101880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSWVIC
2025#93 (3,768)#78 (672)#40 (101)#44 (43)#34 (140)#60 (439)#23 (206)#32 (177)
2024#76 (4,301)#72 (735)#56 (84)#69 (37)#30 (162)#51 (470)#20 (229)#23 (205)
2023#61 (4,976)#74 (693)#32 (122)#52 (45)#37 (141)#57 (449)#20 (217)#23 (171)
2022#59 (5,374)#72 (799)#32 (135)#67 (39)#33 (163)#57 (465)#26 (215)#26 (187)
2021#70 (4,641)#91 (639)#48 (103)#52 (54)#51 (130)#73 (452)#29 (238)#51 (130)
2020#93 (3,867)#103 (579)#58 (87)#64 (45)#58 (109)#79 (400)#50 (171)#60 (116)
2019#100 (3,744)#109 (569)#71 (88)#107 (25)#65 (101)#91 (380)#54 (164)#55 (129)
2018#112 (3,463)#100 (634)#64 (100)#96 (28)#84 (83)#99 (363)#48 (176)#62 (102)
2017#126 (3,158)#93 (691)#65 (99)#114 (25)#77 (90)#120 (319)#53 (168)#64 (104)
2016#145 (2,895)#87 (794)#62 (107)#83 (39)#92 (79)#124 (324)#51 (176)#60 (106)
2015#145 (2,852)#86 (775)#67 (107)#77 (45)#80 (90)#125 (325)#73 (136)#68 (87)
2014#177 (2,411)#77 (858)#55 (120)#65 (46)#73 (111)#125 (336)#59 (172)#61 (96)
2013#199 (1,983)#64 (1,002)#28 (216)#83 (37)#85 (90)#140 (272)#66 (155)—
2012#197 (1,938)#63 (1,075)#44 (157)#82 (41)#109 (66)#143 (277)#59 (171)#78 (89)
2011#202 (1,790)#56 (1,211)#39 (194)#84 (40)#118 (63)#140 (268)#80 (134)#79 (88)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 2022 at #59.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1926.
  • In 2025, 6% of US babies named Kai were girls.

How common is it?

about 1 in 450 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 2. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 450common
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 400common
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 190very common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 190very common
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 170very common
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 360common

Next year

On its recent trend, Kai is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 450 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 360 to 1 in 550.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Kai by state, 2025Alaska: #85AKMaine: #101MEWisconsin: #130WIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #67WAIdaho: #150IDMontana: #159MTNorth Dakota: #107NDMinnesota: #132MNIllinois: #119ILMichigan: #126MINew York: #77NYMassachusetts: #96MAOregon: #88ORNevada: #68NVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: #127SDIowa: #127IAIndiana: #172INOhio: #130OHPennsylvania: #100PANew Jersey: #98NJConnecticut: #87CTRhode Island: #77RICalifornia: #58CAUtah: #64UTColorado: #80CONebraska: #150NEMissouri: #139MOKentucky: #129KYWest Virginia: #85WVVirginia: #97VAMaryland: #101MDDelaware: #101DEArizona: #79AZNew Mexico: #67NMKansas: #138KSArkansas: #141ARTennessee: #112TNNorth Carolina: #111NCSouth Carolina: #129SCDistrict of Columbia: #120DCOklahoma: #91OKLouisiana: #75LAMississippi: #215MSAlabama: #124ALGeorgia: #98GAHawaii: #13HITexas: #108TXFlorida: #58FL
Kai (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#38234
Quebec2025#16735

Kai (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
KaiCanadaGirls#1,06525
KaiCanadaBoys#60439
KaiEngland & WalesGirls#4,8674
KaiEngland & WalesBoys#78672
KaiIrelandBoys#34140
KaiNorthern IrelandGirls—too few
KaiNorthern IrelandBoys#4443
KaiNSWBoys#23206
KaiScotlandGirls—too few
KaiScotlandBoys#40101
KaiUSGirls#1,053234
KaiUSBoys#933,768
KaiVICBoys#32177