Kai
Kai is a unisex name of Chinese origin meaning “open, victorious, beginning.” It ranked #68 in the United States in 2025. Kai (凯 or 开) means 'victorious' or 'open' in Chinese.
how do you pronounce Kai?
KYE
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Kai mean?
The name Kai means “open, victorious, beginning.” It comes from the Chinese language tradition.
Kai (凯 or 开) means 'victorious' or 'open' in Chinese. Remarkably, Kai is a name found across many cultures: Hawaiian (sea), Japanese (sea/shell), Scandinavian (rejoice), and Maori (food). This multicultural presence has driven its global popularity.
where does the name Kai come from?
Kai exists independently in many unrelated languages, which is much of its appeal. In Hawaiian it means sea; in Japanese it is written with characters including one meaning ocean or one meaning open; in Chinese 凯 conveys triumph. A separate Scandinavian Kai is generally traced to the Latin Gaius.
the history of Kai
Because the sources are genuinely separate, no single history covers the name. Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen gave Scandinavian Kai a literary presence in 1844. The name's rapid rise across English-speaking countries since the 1990s draws mainly on the Hawaiian and Japanese senses, and it is used for both sexes.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024 | #68 |
| 2023 | #71 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Kai?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Kai?
- Kai Havertz (German footballer)
- Kai-Fu Lee (Taiwanese-American AI scientist)
what names are similar to Kai?
what names go well with Kai?
Sibling names that share Kai's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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