Given name & surname · also Japanese, Celtic
Dai
“the great one”·“one who is large”·“a shining man”
Dai is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “the great one”, “one who is large”, and “a shining man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original WelshDafydd
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “the great one”, “one who is large”, and “a shining man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Celtic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English usage, Dai is a diminutive of David. In English usage, Dai as a surname developed from 戴.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1976. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Dai is a diminutive of David. The history of David gives this family its wider story. The biblical David is remembered as the young challenger of Goliath and later king of Israel. In Britain, the patron saint of Wales and two medieval Scottish kings gave the name further local associations.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Dai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 212
- 122 boys · 90 girls
- Most popular year
- 2000
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #15,447 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 15,447 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,210 as a first name in 2020; 7,595 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dai’s family of names
In English usage, Dai is a diminutive of David. In English usage, Dai as a surname developed from the Chinese form 戴. Dai has a related form in Day.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Dai has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Celtic roots to each of them.
6 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Dai
- Dai GreeneWelsh 400 hurdlerborn 1986
- Dai SijieChinese–French author, screenwriter and film directorborn 1954
- Dai TakeuchiJapanese association football playerborn 1992
- Dai SatoJapanese association football playerborn 1971
- Dai TakedaJapanese association football playerborn 1989
- Dai FujimotoJapanese association football playerborn 1990
- Dai OkadaJapanese association football playerborn 1985
- Dai TsukamotoJapanese association football playerborn 2001
- Dai VernonCanadian magician (1894-1992)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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