The name Kai /ˈkaɪ/ has various origins and meanings in different cultures:
In Ancient Greek, kai (καί) is a conjunction meaning "and".
In Basque, kai is a common word meaning "pier of a harbour" and a variant of the first name Kaio (from the old Latin name Caius).
In Burmese, kai means "strong" or "unbreakable".
In Chamoru, Kai is a nativized version of the Spanish name Francisca.
In Mandarin Chinese, Kai is a common given name with one of several meanings, most often "victory" (凱), another being "open" (開). Kai can also be used to transliterate the Chinese character used in some names meaning "start" (啟) in the Cantonese pronunciation.
In Estonian, Kai is a female name meaning "pier".
In Finnish, Kai is a common male name, Finnish form of Kaj. The term "kai" also means "probably" in Finnish.
In Frisian, Kai is a short form of Frisian "Kaimbe", meaning "warrior."
In Hausa, kai means "you".
In Hawaiian, kai means "ocean" or "ocean water".
In Hmong, Kai is a male name that is sometimes spelled Kha.
In Kono and Kissi, Kai is a male name; it is also a Paramount Chief title or prefix that means king of kings. It can be found as a name, or part of the names of several towns and regions in the Mano River Union Countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.
In Japanese, Kai has a number of meanings, including "ocean" (海), "shell" (貝), "restoration" and "recovery". As a surname, it means "Worth" (甲斐).
In Laotian, kai has numerous meanings, including "chicken", "to open" , "sick" , "egg" , or "to sell".
In Malayalam, kai means "hand".
In Māori, kai means "food".
In Navajo, kai means "willow tree".
In North Germanic languages, kai means "lord", "keeper of the keys" or "earth". In Germanic languages, kai means "quay" or "safe harbor".
In Scottish, Kai means "fire".
In Swahili, Kai is a female name meaning "lovable".
In Swedish, Kai is a male name meaning "Rejoice".
In Tamil, kai means "hand".
In Thai, kai means "chicken" and used as a nickname.
In Persian, Kai is short for "Kainat"/"کاینات", meaning "universe". It is usually a nickname, though it can be a real name too. Other nicknames for the same name may include Kaiskii, Kaina and Kaiya.
In Wayuu, kai means "sun". It also means "the one who brings the light in the dawn" and/or "the one who brings knowledge".
In Welsh, Kai is a popular given name normally spelt Cai, from the Arthurian legend of Sir Kay.
In Wolof, kai means "come".
In Zambia, particularly in the Ngoni tribe of south central Africa, Kai is derived from the name Kaizala.
In Northern Ireland, data indicated that Kai experienced a significant rise in popularity as a male given name from 2002 to 2003. It has become popular in the UK, with many children born in the mid to late 1990s given the name. While it is typically a male given name, in recent years it has become popular among females as well.
