Kawai
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- kah-WY
- US rank, 2025
- #10,690 for boys
Kawai is a boys' name. In 2025 it ranked 10,690th for boys in the US (6 babies).
Where does Kawai come from?
Possibly Hawaiian ka wai 'the water', or a Japanese surname
Is Kawai a girl's or a boy's name?
Kawai is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 6 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kawai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #10,690among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 6about 1 in 280,000 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, 6 boys in the US were named Kawai, making it the 10,690th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,447th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 16 boys. It first appears in the records in 2008.
Half of all the boys named Kawai in the US since 1880 were born between 2017 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kawai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #10,690 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 12 | #6,892 |
| 2022 | 6 | #10,855 |
| 2021 | 8 | #8,820 |
| 2020 | 16 | #5,447 |
| 2019 | 15 | #5,808 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 6 | #10,770 |
| 2016 | 8 | #8,811 |
| 2015 | 7 | #9,562 |
| 2014 | 5 | #12,102 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 5 | #12,546 |
Names like Kawai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Koa Kasai Makai Zakai Kai Azai Lakai Kenai Jasai Kailo Kanai Kairo
Names related to Kawai
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, “Kawai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kawai, updated 20 October 2026.