Nakai
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- nuh-KYE
- Origin
- Native American
- US rank, 2025
- #2,258 for boys
Nakai is a name of Native American origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,258th for boys in the US (62 babies).
Where does Nakai come from?
Native American: Navajo surname; also a Japanese surname
Is Nakai a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Nakai has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 62 boys in the US.
How popular is Nakai in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2022, with 6 girls.
Nakai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6 | #3,728 |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 3 | #5,734 |
| 2019 | 1 | #7,346 |
| 2018 | 3 | #5,896 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 1 | #7,377 |
| 2008 | 5 | #4,065 |
| 2007 | 3 | #5,415 |
| 2006 | 5 | #3,724 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 1 | #5,110 |
How popular is Nakai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,258among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 62about 1 in 28,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 62% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 62 boys in the US were named Nakai, making it the 2,258th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,272nd. It first appears in the records in 1974.
2025 had the most boys named Nakai of any year since it first appeared, in 1974.
Half of all the boys named Nakai in the US since 1880 were born between 2006 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 67 boys in the US were given Nakai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,863, up from #2,258 for this spelling alone.
- Nakai 62
- Nakhai 5
In 2024, 17% of the babies named Nakai in the US were girls.
Nakai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 62 | #2,258 |
| 2024 | 40 | #3,044 |
| 2023 | 49 | #2,659 |
| 2022 | 41 | #3,001 |
| 2021 | 54 | #2,463 |
| 2020 | 34 | #3,272 |
| 2019 | 32 | #3,493 |
| 2018 | 27 | #3,887 |
| 2017 | 40 | #2,950 |
| 2016 | 33 | #3,357 |
| 2015 | 38 | #3,021 |
| 2014 | 36 | #3,088 |
| 2013 | 27 | #3,751 |
| 2012 | 24 | #4,128 |
| 2011 | 24 | #4,108 |
| 2010 | 24 | #4,098 |
| 2009 | 32 | #3,397 |
| 2008 | 39 | #3,004 |
| 2007 | 44 | #2,721 |
| 2006 | 35 | #3,082 |
| 2005 | 32 | #3,168 |
| 2004 | 34 | #2,949 |
| 2003 | 28 | #3,275 |
| 2002 | 10 | #6,515 |
| 2001 | 23 | #3,612 |
| 2000 | 6 | #9,104 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,036 |
| 1998 | 16 | #4,193 |
| 1997 | 9 | #6,094 |
| 1996 | 12 | #4,871 |
| 1995 | 6 | #7,785 |
| 1994 | 9 | #5,862 |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 9 | #3,657 |
| 1974 | 8 | #3,835 |
Nicknames for Nakai
- Kai 816 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Nakai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Makai Kai Koa Lakai Nikolai Jakai Nakoa Makoa Kaleo Zakai Kainoa Akai
Names related to Nakai
More Native American names
Dakota Tallulah Nayeli Winona Kenai Cree Xochitl Xitlali Citlali Alaska Talulah Sequoia Denali Tennessee Dakoda Lakota
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, “Nakai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nakai, updated 20 October 2026.