Hai
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- HY
- Origin
- Chinese
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
Hai is a boys' name of Chinese origin, meaning “sea, ocean”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Hai mean?
Chinese: Chinese, and Vietnamese Hải, commonly from 海 'sea'
“sea, ocean”
In Chinese and Vietnamese the meaning depends on the character used; 'sea' is the most common.
Is Hai a girl's or a boy's name?
Hai is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Hai in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Hai, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2000, with 4 boys.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Hai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 3 | #4,955 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 3 | #4,865 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 3 | #4,204 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #2,612 |
How popular is Hai in the US?
No boys in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1983, with 44 boys. It first appears in the records in 1975.
Half of all the boys named Hai in the US since 1880 were born between 1982 and 1993, the years shaded on the chart below.
Hai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8 | #8,739 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 11 | #7,044 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,464 |
| 2004 | 5 | #11,348 |
| 2003 | 6 | #9,574 |
| 2002 | 5 | #10,660 |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 7 | #8,202 |
| 1999 | 11 | #5,650 |
| 1998 | 5 | #9,623 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,663 |
| 1996 | 15 | #4,179 |
| 1995 | 19 | #3,426 |
| 1994 | 15 | #4,088 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,362 |
| 1992 | 22 | #2,993 |
| 1991 | 10 | #5,088 |
| 1990 | 27 | #2,483 |
| 1989 | 21 | #2,896 |
| 1988 | 17 | #3,074 |
| 1987 | 24 | #2,329 |
| 1986 | 30 | #1,960 |
| 1985 | 39 | #1,613 |
| 1984 | 31 | #1,795 |
| 1983 | 44 | #1,428 |
| 1982 | 29 | #1,889 |
| 1981 | 28 | #1,941 |
| 1980 | 26 | #2,058 |
| 1979 | 22 | #2,235 |
| 1978 | 15 | #2,798 |
| 1977 | 5 | #5,843 |
| 1976 | 13 | #2,945 |
| 1975 | 5 | #5,462 |
Names like Hai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Ahmed Hassan Hamza Hakeem Hud Tai Khalid Abdullah Raheem Mustafa Hamid
More Chinese names
Lian Jia Mei Tian Jun Mulan Yi Tao San Jian Han Mian Bao Xia Lin Yichen
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, “Hai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/hai, updated 20 October 2026.