How popular is the baby name Kai in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Kai.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Kai


Posts that Mention the Name Kai

Popular baby names in the Netherlands, 2022

The Netherlands

The country of the Netherlands, located in Northwestern Europe, is bordered by both Belgium and Germany.

Last year, from January to November, the Netherlands welcomed more than 168,000 babies — over 82,000 girls and over 86,000 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Noah.

Here are the Netherlands’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 677 baby girls
  2. Julia, 655
  3. Mila, 624
  4. Sophie, 620
  5. Olivia, 591
  6. Yara, 559
  7. Saar, 532 – short form of Sarah
  8. Nora, 524
  9. Tess, 509
  10. Noor, 501
  11. Milou, 489
  12. Sara, 486
  13. Liv, 482
  14. Zoë, 473
  15. Evi, 466
  16. Anna, 455
  17. Luna, 451
  18. Lotte, 423 (tie)
  19. Nina, 423 (tie)
  20. Eva, 405
  21. Emily, 389
  22. Lauren, 386
  23. Maeve, 384
  24. Lina, 383
  25. Elin, 379
  26. Maud, 368
  27. Sarah, 350
  28. Nova, 345
  29. Loïs, 340 (tie)
  30. Sofia, 340 (tie)
  31. Mia, 339
  32. Sofie, 332
  33. Lieke, 330
  34. Fleur, 328
  35. Isa, 325
  36. Fien, 324 – short form of Josefien
  37. Lynn, 319
  38. Hailey, 312
  39. Roos, 297
  40. Julie, 290
  41. Livia, 288
  42. Fenna, 284 – feminine form of Fen (a Frisian short form of Ferdinand)
  43. Ella, 279
  44. Sophia, 275
  45. Bo, 274
  46. Lily, 252
  47. Ivy, 248
  48. Romée, 246
  49. Lena, 244
  50. Noé, 241

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 871 baby boys
  2. Liam, 666
  3. Luca, 664
  4. Lucas, 652
  5. Mees, 621 – short form of Bartholomeus
  6. Finn, 596
  7. James, 594
  8. Milan, 591
  9. Levi, 585
  10. Sem, 582
  11. Daan, 538
  12. Noud, 533 – short form of Arnoud (the Dutch form of Arnold)
  13. Luuk, 518
  14. Adam, 508
  15. Sam, 495
  16. Bram, 470
  17. Zayn, 447
  18. Mason, 440
  19. Benjamin, 409
  20. Boaz, 369
  21. Siem, 360 – short form of Simon
  22. Guus, 356
  23. Morris, 353
  24. Olivier, 349 (tie)
  25. Thomas, 349 (tie)
  26. Teun, 346 – short form of Antonius
  27. Gijs, 335 (tie) – short form of Gijsbert
  28. Mats, 335 (tie)
  29. Max, 326
  30. Jesse, 317
  31. Julian, 315
  32. Otis, 314
  33. Floris, 312
  34. Lars, 307
  35. David, 304 (tie)
  36. Jake, 304 (tie)
  37. Moos, 303 – short form of Mozes
  38. Rayan, 300
  39. Jens, 291
  40. Joep, 289
  41. Owen, 286
  42. Thijs, 273
  43. Jan, 270 (3-way tie)
  44. Oliver, 270 (3-way tie)
  45. Willem, 270 (3-way tie)
  46. Mick, 269
  47. Jack, 262
  48. Jurre, 259 – short form of Jurryt (the Frisian form of Gerard)
  49. Abel, 254
  50. Kai, 253

Dutch onomastician Gerrit Bloothooft noted that, if similar names had been counted together, the name-groups Saar/Sara/Sarah and Luca/Lucas/Luuk would have topped the girls’ list and the boys’ list, respectively.

The girls’ top 100 included Cato (55th), Veerle (60th), Puck (75th), and Merel (83rd).

The boys’ top 100 included Jaxx (56th), Sven (64th), Hidde (72nd), and Jip (78th).

Finally, here are the Netherlands’ 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare.

Sources: Kindernamen home | Kindernamen | SVB, Emma en Noah de populairste kindernamen van 2022, Population growth almost doubled in 2022, Behind the Name

Popular baby names in Virginia, 2022

Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia, located on the east coast of the United States, is the 12th most populous state in the country.

Last year, Virginia welcomed roughly 95,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Noah, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records.

Here are Virginia’s top 15 girl names and top 15 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Charlotte
  2. Olivia
  3. Ava
  4. Amelia
  5. Emma
  6. Harper
  7. Evelyn
  8. Eleanor
  9. Sophia
  10. Elizabeth
  11. Lilly
  12. Abigail
  13. Riley
  14. Nora
  15. Chloe

Boy Names

  1. Noah
  2. James
  3. Liam
  4. William
  5. Henry
  6. Theodore
  7. Oliver
  8. Elijah
  9. Levi
  10. Benjamin
  11. Owen
  12. John
  13. Jack
  14. Asher
  15. Lucas

…But that’s not all!

The state also revealed the top names among the state’ four largest ethnic groups: White, Black, Hispanic and Asian. (Virginia’s demographic data for 2022 isn’t out yet, but, two years earlier, the state’s population was roughly 53.9% non-Hispanic White, 20.7% Black, 15.6% Hispanic, and 7.3% Asian.)

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s White babies:

Girl names, WhiteBoy names, White
1. Charlotte
2. Olivia
3. Amelia
4. Harper
5. Emma		1. William
2. Henry
3. James
4. Theodore
5. Oliver

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Black babies:

Girl names, BlackBoy names, Black
1. Ava
2. Naomi
3. Nova
4. Zuri
5. Leilani		1. Noah
2. Elijah
3. Josiah
4. Amir
5. Micah

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Hispanic babies:

Girl names, HispanicBoy names, Hispanic
1. Mia
2. Camila
3. Isabella
4. Emma
5. Genesis		1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Dylan
4. Noah
5. Lucas

And, finally, these were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Asian babies:

Girl names, AsianBoy names, Asian
1. Sophia
2. Chloe
3. Olivia
4. Mia
5. Charlotte		1. Noah
2. Muhammad
3. Liam
4. Kai
5. Henry

Nearly a decade ago we looked at Virginia’s 2013 rankings, which also included a breakdown of usage by ethnic group.

Source:

Image by YarnSeasons from Pixabay

Popular baby names in Coconino County (Arizona), 2022

Vermillion Cliffs, Coconino, AZ

Coconino County in Arizona is the second-largest county in the continental United States. If it were a U.S. state, it would rank between West Virginia (#41) and Maryland (#42) in terms of total area.

Coconino contains a number of nationally protected places, including part of the Grand Canyon, but relatively few residents. Last year, it welcomed just 1,314 babies — less than 2% of all the babies born in Arizona.

What were the most popular names among these Coconino babies? Juniper and Liam.

Here are the county’s top 5 girl names and top 5+ boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Juniper
  2. Sophia
  3. Hailey
  4. Hazel
  5. Olivia

Boy Names

  1. Liam
  2. Oliver
  3. Asher, Kai, Logan, Mason, and Theodore (5-way tie)

I’m pleasantly surprised that Juniper happened to be the #1 girl name in the region. (No doubt the names at the top of these rankings were only separated by a baby or two, though.)

I wonder how many of the parents who opted for Juniper were inspired by the Utah Juniper, which is a small, wind-twisted tree native to the Southwest. The NPS describes junipers as having “a mystical quality. Each tree is like a fine work of art that one might find in a museum.”

juniper tree
Utah Juniper tree

Nationally, the name Juniper has been bounding up the charts over the last few years. In 2021, it was the 138th most popular girl name in the country, but a top-50 name in the following six states:

  • Wyoming (where Juniper ranked 14th)
  • Oregon (17th)
  • Montana (18th)
  • Vermont (18th)
  • Alaska (25th)
  • Idaho (32nd)

Speaking of states…

The Arizona Department of Health Services reports that these were top baby names state-wide in 2022:

Girl Names, Ariz.Boy Names, Ariz.
1. Olivia, 382 baby girls
2. Emma, 338
3. Isabella, 309
4. Sophia, 304
5. Luna, 269
6. Mia, 248
7. Camila, 224
8. Amelia, 220
9. Ava, 209
10. Charlotte, 206		1. Liam, 433 baby boys
2. Noah, 410
3. Mateo, 372
4. Oliver, 330
5. Santiago, 298
6. Sebastian, 257
7. Elijah, 244
8. Ezra, 235
9. Ezekiel, 230
10. Julian, 224

Notably, Juniper and Hailey — the 1st and 3rd most popular girl names in Coconino County — only managed to rank 93rd and 99th across all of Arizona.

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Sunrise at Cottonwood Cove by John Fowler under CC BY 2.0; Adapted from original by Mike Goad from Pixabay.

Popular baby names in Gibraltar, 2021

gibraltar

Gibraltar — the small British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula — shares a border with only Spain.

In 2021, Gibraltar welcomed 417 babies: 197 baby girls and 220 baby boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sophia/Sofia and Kai.

Here are Gibraltar’s top 5+ girl names and top 5+ boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Sophia, 5 baby girls (plus two more named Sofia)
  2. Ava, 5 (plus one more named Ava-Winter)
  3. Chloe, 5 (plus one more named Khloe)
  4. Isabella, 5
  5. Maya, 5
  6. Olivia, 4
  7. Anna, 3 (plus one more named Ana)
  8. Hannah, 3 (plus one more named Hanna)

Boy Names

  1. Kai, 6 baby boys (plus one more named Kai-Sean)
  2. Max, 5 (plus one more named Maximilian)
  3. Daniel, 4 (6-way tie)
  4. Hugo, 4 (6-way tie)
  5. Jack, 4 (6-way tie)
  6. Lucas, 4 (6-way tie)
  7. Noah, 4 (6-way tie)
  8. Oliver, 4 (6-way tie)

And here are a few of the unique baby names bestowed just once in Gibraltar in 2021:

  • Arlo, Haroun, Kostas, Layden, Niv (boy names)
  • Bonina, Lujain, Magny, Migle, Mystra (girl names)

In 2020, the top names in Gibraltar were Ana and Thomas.

Source: Kai and Sophia most popular baby names of 2021 on the Rock