Wai
- Gender
- Mostly boys
- Say it
- WY
- Origin
- Chinese
Wai is a name of Chinese origin. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Wai mean?
Chinese: Cantonese romanisation of several Chinese characters
Cantonese romanisation of several Chinese characters, such as those for great or might, so the meaning depends on the characters chosen.
Is Wai a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Wai has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys.
How popular is Wai in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1996, with 10 boys.
Half of all the boys named Wai in the UK since 1996 were born between 1997 and 2004. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
In 2007, 55% of the babies named Wai in the UK were girls.
Wai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 3 | #4,829 |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 3 | #4,691 |
| 2008 | 1 | #5,936 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,231 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 3 | #3,792 |
| 2003 | 7 | #2,054 |
| 2002 | 3 | #3,325 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 6 | #1,977 |
| 1999 | 7 | #1,749 |
| 1998 | 2 | #3,848 |
| 1997 | 8 | #1,532 |
| 1996 | 10 | #1,290 |
More Chinese names
Lian, Jia, Mei, Tai, Tian, Jun, Mulan, Yi, Tao, San, Jian, Han, Mian, Bao, Xia, Lin
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Wai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/wai, updated 20 October 2026.