BoyPopular now
Kai
Kai (かい) is a Japanese name for boys. Its best-known spelling is 櫂, 櫂 oar. It is popular today and has reached No. 31 in 2024.
か · い · かい · カイ
Ways to write Kai
The same sound can be written with different kanji, and each choice changes the meaning. These are the spellings that have appeared in Japan's yearly baby name rankings, most popular first.
櫂
櫂oar
Boy, best No. 31 (2014–2025)海
海sea
Boy, best No. 76 (2004–2005)快
快cheerful
Boy, best No. 84 (2018–2024)Rarer spellings
These spellings of Kai appear in Japanese name records but are uncommon. Each uses a standard reading of its kanji.
伽衣attendant + garmentGirl
佳依beautiful + to rely onGirl
佳惟beautiful + to thinkGirl
佳衣beautiful + garmentGirl
加衣to add + garmentGirl
嘉依praise + to rely onGirl
嘉維praise + fibreGirl
嘉衣praise + garmentGirl
Popularity in Japan
Where Kai has ranked among the most popular name readings each year. Its best year was 2024, at No. 31.
Show the numbers
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 2025 | No. 38 |
| 2024 | No. 37 |
| 2023 | No. 41 |
| 2022 | No. 47 |
| 2021 | No. 44 |
| 2020 | No. 38 |
| 2018 | No. 49 |
Source: Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance yearly baby name survey. It covers the top 10 names each year from 1912 to 2003, and the top 100 names and top 50 readings from 2004.
Famous people named Kai
Kai Shibato 海Japanese association football player
From Wikidata: notable Japanese people with this given name.