Kai Origin and Meaning
The name Kai is a boy's name of Hawaiian origin meaning "sea".
Kai is an internationally flexible name with many possible origins and meanings, growing in popularity in the US and a diverse range of European countries.
In the US, the name Kai is most commonly referred to as being of Hawaiian derivation, meaning "sea." In Europe, Kai is largely considered to have Frisian origin as a diminutive of the name Kaimbe, meaning "warrior", or as a short form of Gerard "brave spear".
Kai is also found as an independent name in African, Chinese, Turkish and Native American cultures. Kai is a strong, evocative multi-cultural name that packs a lot of power in its single syllable.
Famous as the boy enchanted by the fairy-tale Snow Queen, Kai was chosen for her son by actress Jennifer Connelly and as a middle name for son Samuel by Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber. Kai is popular with Berries as both a first and middle name choice. Its most prominent namesake is Danish-born jazz trombonist Kai Winding, and it is popular in computer games.
Kai ranks in the US Top 1000 for girls, but is used more than 90 percent of the time for boys. Donald Trump, Jr. has a daughter named Kai Madison and Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik named their daughter Khai in 2020.
