Kanai
- Gender
- Mostly boys
- Say it
- kuh-NY
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- US rank, 2025
- #3,180 for boys
Kanai is a name of Sanskrit origin. In 2025 it ranked 3,180th for boys in the US (37 babies).
Where does Kanai come from?
Sanskrit: Bengali pet name for Krishna; also a Japanese surname
Is Kanai a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Kanai has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 13 girls and 37 boys in the US.
How popular is Kanai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #3,180among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 37about 1 in 46,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 79% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 37 boys in the US were named Kanai, making it the 3,180th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,695th. It first appears in the records in 1999. 13 girls were also named Kanai in 2025 (7,883rd for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Kanai of any year since it first appeared, in 1999.
Half of all the boys named Kanai in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 26% of the babies named Kanai in the US were girls.
Kanai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37 | #3,180 |
| 2024 | 26 | #4,069 |
| 2023 | 30 | #3,710 |
| 2022 | 29 | #3,772 |
| 2021 | 24 | #4,243 |
| 2020 | 15 | #5,695 |
| 2019 | 20 | #4,802 |
| 2018 | 17 | #5,316 |
| 2017 | 15 | #5,784 |
| 2016 | 13 | #6,344 |
| 2015 | 18 | #5,056 |
| 2014 | 18 | #5,062 |
| 2013 | 14 | #5,919 |
| 2012 | 23 | #4,248 |
| 2011 | 13 | #6,250 |
| 2010 | 6 | #10,759 |
| 2009 | 13 | #6,432 |
| 2008 | 14 | #6,065 |
| 2007 | 10 | #7,586 |
| 2006 | 12 | #6,455 |
| 2005 | 11 | #6,628 |
| 2004 | 9 | #7,530 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
| 1999 | 5 | #9,905 |
Names like Kanai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Koa Kai Makai Lakai Kaleo Kailo Kainoa Makoa Nakai Kasai Keanu Kenai
Names related to Kanai
More Sanskrit names
Maya Bodhi Arya Lila Arjun Aarav Rohan Kali Aryan Opal Arjan Vihaan Aadhya Avyaan Ishaan Siya
Sources
Figures from 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, “Kanai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kanai, updated 20 October 2026.