Nakai (written: 中井 or 中居) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Asakazu Nakai (1901–1988), Japanese cinematographerChiharu Nakai (born 1984), Japanese AV actress and glamour modelDaisuke Nakai (born 1989), Japanese professional baseball infielderHiroshi Nakai (born 1942), Japanese politicianKazuya Nakai (born 1967), Japanese actorKie Nakai (born 1957), Japanese actressKiichi Nakai (born 1961), Japanese actorMasahiro Nakai (born 1972), Japanese singer, actor and hostMasakazu Nakai (1900–1952), Japanese aesthetician, film theorist, librarian, and social activistMasutaro Nakai (1895–1969), general in the Imperial Japanese ArmyNakai Chikuzan (1730–1804), Japanese politicianNorio Nakai (born 1952), Japanese writerR. Carlos Nakai (born 1946), Native American flautistShogo Nakai (born 1984), former Japanese football playerTakahiro Nakai (born 1990), Japanese judokaTakenoshin Nakai (1882–1952), Japanese botanistTakezo Nakai (born 1949), Japanese former handball playerYasuyuki Nakai (1954–2014), Japanese baseball playerYoshikazu Nakai, mathematician, originator of the Nakai conjectureYoshiki Nakai (born 1983), Japanese football playerYoshinori Nakai (born 1960), Japanese artistYuki Nakai (born 1970), retired Japanese shooto practitioner and mixed martial artistNakai is also a surname of some people from the Punjab, a province in India and Pakistan. They are a sub-cast of Sandhu Jatts and are descendants of Nakai Misl, a principality of the Sikh Empire from 1748 to 1810. For more details refer to pages Nakai Misl, Baherwal Kalan and Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai.
