Kai
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a unisex given name from the Germanic languages, of modern usage. Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the rare medieval English male given name Kay. The German Kai may also derive from a West Frisian pet form of Gerard, Cornelius, Nicholas, or Kampe "warrior". In the U.S. Kai has also been explained as Hawaiian kai (“sea”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Kai (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Kai has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2022. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – |
| 1999 | – | – |
| 2000 | – | – |
| 2001 | – | – |
| 2002 | – | – |
| 2003 | – | – |
| 2004 | – | 2 |
| 2005 | – | 4 |
| 2006 | – | 4 |
| 2007 | – | – |
| 2008 | – | 3 |
| 2009 | – | 6 |
| 2010 | – | 6 |
| 2011 | – | 7 |
| 2012 | – | 7 |
| 2013 | – | 6 |
| 2014 | – | 6 |
| 2015 | – | 11 |
| 2016 | – | 13 |
| 2017 | 2 | 16 |
| 2018 | – | 16 |
| 2019 | – | 13 |
| 2020 | – | 11 |
| 2021 | 2 | 21 |
| 2022 | – | 29 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 39 | 1,234 |
| 2000 | 42 | 1,208 |
| 2001 | 43 | 1,196 |
| 2002 | 43 | 1,199 |
| 2003 | 43 | 1,205 |
| 2004 | 45 | 1,186 |
| 2005 | 46 | 1,184 |
| 2006 | 48 | 1,196 |
| 2007 | 47 | 1,191 |
| 2008 | 46 | 1,176 |
| 2009 | 48 | 1,174 |
| 2010 | 51 | 1,178 |
| 2011 | 51 | 1,174 |
| 2012 | 50 | 1,179 |
| 2013 | 52 | 1,187 |
| 2014 | 57 | 1,169 |
| 2015 | 58 | 1,169 |
| 2016 | 59 | 1,155 |
| 2017 | 60 | 1,161 |
| 2018 | 68 | 1,176 |
| 2019 | 70 | 1,185 |
| 2020 | 73 | 1,192 |
Kai in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Kai.Hi! My name is Kai.
- Kai har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Kai has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Kais mamma är lärare.Kai's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Kais mamma is Kai's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Kai
How do you pronounce Kai in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Kai in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Kai mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a unisex given name from the Germanic languages, of modern usage. Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the rare medieval English male given name Kay. The German Kai may also derive from a West Frisian pet form of Gerard, Cornelius, Nicholas, or Kampe "warrior". In the U.S. Kai has also been explained as Hawaiian kai (“sea”).
How popular is Kai in Sweden?
29 babies were named Kai in 2022. In 2020, 1,265 people in Sweden had Kai as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2022 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.