Name Awesome

Jai

#1,460 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Jai has been given to 6,535 babies in the U.S. since 1959. In 2025 it ranked #1,460 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2014, with 201 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 79% boys, 21% girls all-time.

Babies named Jai, 2025

1 in 27,200

Jai over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Jai over time

In 2025, Jai went to 13% girls and 87% boys.

19572025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Jai: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Sanskrit

What Jai means

Jai has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Jai

A separate documented entry treats Jai as a alternate transcription of Hindi. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

A separate documented entry treats Jai as a variant of Jay. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

Origin, language, and formation

Jai is used in English. Its origins include Sanskrit.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Jai is pronounced /d͡ʒeɪ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,160 boys were recorded with the name Jai between 1959 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 201 in 2014; its best national rank was #1,016 in 2014.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,190 in 2020 to #1,460 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,226 in 2015 to #1,460 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,375 girls were recorded with the name Jai between 1957 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 51 in 1998; its best national rank was #2,665 in 1998.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,106 in 2020 to #6,204 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,503 in 2015 to #6,204 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Jai?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 27,200
122 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 14,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,460
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
18,836 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Jai sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 18,836 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Jai. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Jais were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Jai was born before 2009 — so the typical Jai is around 16 today.

Median birth year
2009
About 16 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
30.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
73.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,160
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 30.0% of all recorded uses (1,549).

Is Jai rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−162
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−270
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−234
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.81×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
60.7%
Peak was 2014 (201)
Years since peak
11
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
9.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,016
2014

Where Jai is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Jai was most concentrated in Louisiana — about 1 in 4,348 boys, against 1 in 11,275 across all states with data. It was least common in Michigan (1 in 100,000).

123 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Louisiana1 in 4,348
  2. 2Florida1 in 7,143
  3. 3Georgia1 in 7,143
  4. 4New Jersey1 in 8,333
  5. 5California1 in 9,091
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 10,000
  7. 7New York1 in 11,111
  8. 8Texas1 in 11,111

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Jai is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Jai was most concentrated in Georgia — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 328,641 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Georgia1 in 100,000
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 100,000
  3. 3Texas1 in 100,000
  4. 4California1 in —
  5. 5Florida1 in —
  6. 6Illinois1 in —
  7. 7New York1 in —
  8. 8Pennsylvania1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Jai has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Jai around the world

Where Jai ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #822
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1979–2020
    #599
    in 2020
  • Northern Ireland
    2000–2021
    #433
    in 2021
  • Ireland
    2003–2025
    #829
    in 2025
  • France
    2012–2024
    #5,044
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1992–2024
    #1,011
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1969–2013
    #126
    in 2013
  • New South Wales
    2001–2008
    #90
    in 2008

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada, Consumer and Business Services (South Australia) and NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages. ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA, NSW BDM data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Jai

People whose public names include Jai, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Jai by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,460
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 270
Best rank ever
#1,016
2014
Peak year
2014
201 that year
First recorded
1959
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,160
Count in 2025
122

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#6,204
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 2,098
Best rank ever
#2,665
1998
Peak year
1998
51 that year
First recorded
1957
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,375
Count in 2025
19

Names similar to Jai

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

JairJairoJaidynJairusJaireJaisonJaiceJaidonJailenJaidanJaidenJaimeJailynJaionJaivonJaiseJaivenJaironJaiceonAjaiJaielJaimieJaivionJairen

Names with a curve like Jai

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Jai, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AmarSladeTorinEamonImmanuelRishiShlomoShimonAvrohomBrighamHavenNeel

Sibling names for Jai

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Jai

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