Name Awesome

Tai

#2,536 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Very, extreme

Tai has been given to 4,937 babies in the U.S. since 1922. In 2025 it ranked #2,536 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2004, with 133 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 63% boys, 37% girls all-time.

Babies named Tai, 2025

1 in 62,600

Tai over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Tai over time

In 2025, Tai went to 17% girls and 83% boys.

19222025

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.

Tai: meaning, origin, and history

Very, extreme

Chinese

What Tai means

Tai means “very, extreme”.

Origin, language, and formation

Tai is used in English and Lun Bawang. Its origins include Chinese.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Tai is pronounced /taɪ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,122 boys were recorded with the name Tai between 1922 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 133 in 2004; its best national rank was #1,153 in 2003.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,319 in 2020 to #2,536 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,293 in 2015 to #2,536 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,815 girls were recorded with the name Tai between 1959 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 159 in 1980; its best national rank was #947 in 1980.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #7,528 in 2020 to #9,394 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #7,572 in 2015 to #9,394 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 Tai?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 62,600
53 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 32,200
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,536
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
43,358 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tai 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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 43,358 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tai. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tais were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tai was born before 2004 — so the typical Tai is around 21 today.

Median birth year
2004
About 21 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
33.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
61.7%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,112
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 33.7% of all recorded uses (1,053).

Is Tai 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
−123
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−217
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−243
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.91×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
39.8%
Peak was 2004 (133)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
12.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,153
2003

Where Tai is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Tai was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 25,000 boys, against 1 in 100,284 across all states with data. It was least common in Utah (1 in —).

04 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 25,000
  2. 2California1 in 33,333
  3. 3Florida1 in 50,000
  4. 4Colorado1 in 100,000
  5. 5Louisiana1 in 100,000
  6. 6New York1 in 100,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 100,000
  8. 8Virginia1 in 100,000

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. Tai has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Tai is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Tai was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 259,346 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 100,000
  3. 3New York1 in 100,000
  4. 4Alabama1 in —
  5. 5Arkansas1 in —
  6. 6Colorado1 in —
  7. 7Florida1 in —
  8. 8Georgia1 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. Tai has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Tai around the world

Where Tai 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
    #1,613
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2002–2013
    #687
    in 2013
  • Northern Ireland
    2011–2011
    #375
    in 2011
  • France
    2002–2017
    #5,774
    in 2017
  • Canada
    1994–2024
    #2,855
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1963–2013
    #499
    in 2013

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

Notable people named Tai

People whose public names include Tai, 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.

Tai in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Tai. Linked forms have their own page here.

DaDaiRuiTaeToiDuiDàiThái

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Tai by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,536
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 217
Best rank ever
#1,153
2003
Peak year
2004
133 that year
First recorded
1922
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,122
Count in 2025
53

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#9,394
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,866
Best rank ever
#947
1980
Peak year
1980
159 that year
First recorded
1959
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,815
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Tai

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

TaimTaitTaiwanTaigaItaiTaidenTaiyoMataiEtaiTaigeTaisonTaikaTaioKitaiTaimurTaikiTaitumKataiTaiwoTaivonTaiteTainoAmitaiDontai

Names with a curve like Tai

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

SameerDavenAjayJuancarlosFavianEvinAramisBlayneZachYonatanKaronBraulio

Sibling names for Tai

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 Tai

Top names of 2004, Tai's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2003Boys' names starting with TMāori Boy Names