Cai
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KY
- Origin
- Latin
- UK rank, 2025
- #709 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #2,108 for boys
Cai is a boys' name of Latin origin. In 2025 it ranked 709th for boys in the UK (55 babies) and 2,108th for boys in the US (69 babies).
What does Cai mean?
Latin: Welsh form of Kay, from Latin Gaius
Cai is the Welsh name of Sir Kay, King Arthur's foster brother in Arthurian legend.
Is Cai a girl's or a boy's name?
Cai is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 55 boys in the UK and 12 girls and 69 boys in the US.
How popular is Cai in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #709among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 55about 1 in 5,500 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 14% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 55 boys in the UK were named Cai, making it the 709th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 601st. Its busiest year was 2006, with 194 boys.
Half of all the boys named Cai in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2015, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 909 boys in the UK were given Cai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #64, up from #709 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 687th in England and Wales and 762nd in Scotland.
Cai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 55 | #709 |
| 2024 | 56 | #704 |
| 2023 | 52 | #730 |
| 2022 | 57 | #681 |
| 2021 | 62 | #654 |
| 2020 | 68 | #601 |
| 2019 | 56 | #679 |
| 2018 | 65 | #621 |
| 2017 | 79 | #549 |
| 2016 | 82 | #542 |
| 2015 | 100 | #455 |
| 2014 | 88 | #503 |
| 2013 | 101 | #451 |
| 2012 | 90 | #484 |
| 2011 | 110 | #398 |
| 2010 | 126 | #368 |
| 2009 | 149 | #313 |
| 2008 | 148 | #313 |
| 2007 | 149 | #293 |
| 2006 | 194 | #231 |
| 2005 | 153 | #252 |
| 2004 | 122 | #292 |
| 2003 | 141 | #250 |
| 2002 | 104 | #297 |
| 2001 | 96 | #319 |
| 2000 | 95 | #326 |
| 1999 | 65 | #386 |
| 1998 | 79 | #344 |
| 1997 | 63 | #403 |
| 1996 | 47 | #451 |
How popular is Cai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,108among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 69about 1 in 25,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 21% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 69 boys in the US were named Cai, making it the 2,108th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,113th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 108 boys. It first appears in the records in 1989. 12 girls were also named Cai in 2025 (8,360th for girls).
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Cai than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Cai in the US since 1880 were born between 2010 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 4,193 boys in the US were given Cai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #90, up from #2,108 for this spelling alone.
In 2025, 15% of the babies named Cai in the US were girls.
Cai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 69 | #2,108 |
| 2024 | 83 | #1,902 |
| 2023 | 86 | #1,851 |
| 2022 | 108 | #1,611 |
| 2021 | 87 | #1,799 |
| 2020 | 66 | #2,113 |
| 2019 | 66 | #2,149 |
| 2018 | 65 | #2,146 |
| 2017 | 68 | #2,049 |
| 2016 | 82 | #1,828 |
| 2015 | 82 | #1,815 |
| 2014 | 71 | #1,999 |
| 2013 | 55 | #2,298 |
| 2012 | 54 | #2,357 |
| 2011 | 39 | #2,949 |
| 2010 | 38 | #3,013 |
| 2009 | 41 | #2,893 |
| 2008 | 39 | #3,004 |
| 2007 | 29 | #3,589 |
| 2006 | 23 | #4,101 |
| 2005 | 29 | #3,385 |
| 2004 | 27 | #3,452 |
| 2003 | 25 | #3,523 |
| 2002 | 20 | #4,038 |
| 2001 | 17 | #4,470 |
| 2000 | 16 | #4,567 |
| 1999 | 6 | #8,697 |
| 1998 | 8 | #6,837 |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,275 |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 6 | #7,785 |
| 1994 | 8 | #6,366 |
| 1993 | 9 | #5,764 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 10 | #4,986 |
| 1989 | 5 | #7,898 |
Names like Cai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Finn Aiden Kayden Kian Cassian Declan Brody Ronan Caelan Conan Callan Flynn
Other spellings of Cai
Names related to Cai
More Latin names
Oliver Olivia Leo Roman Aurora Emily Florence Mabel Luna Nora Rosie Emilia Max Nova Lucy Julian
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cai, updated 20 October 2026.