Given name & surname
Jai
“resembling a jaybird”·“one who is victorious”
Jai is a variant of Jay. Interpretations include “resembling a jaybird” and “one who is victorious”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Jai is a variant of Jae. In English use, Jae carries the interpretation “resembling a jaybird.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Jai is a variant of Jay. Interpretations include “resembling a jaybird” and “one who is victorious”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Jai is a variant of Jae. In English use, Jae carries the interpretation “resembling a jaybird.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Jai is used as a variant of Jay.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1957. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Jai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,535
- 5,160 boys · 1,375 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 234 babies
- 2025
- 141
- #1,460 for boys · #6,205 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −3%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 80% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 122 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,460 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 201 in 2014. It also appeared in 19 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (24). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,708 as a first name in 2020; 224 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.
Jai’s family of names
Jai has a related form in Jay. Jai has a related form in Jae.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Jai
- Jai CourtneyAustralian actor (born 1986)
- Jai HindleyAustralian cyclistborn 1996
- Jai TaurimaAustralian long jumperborn 1972
- Jai Ram ThakurIndian politicianborn 1965
- Jai CrawfordAustralian bicycle racerborn 1983
- Jai AngsuthasawitThai-Australian cyclistborn 1995
- Jai WaetfordAustralian singerborn 1999
- Jai Prakash YadavIndian cricket playerborn 1974
- Jai Ram ReddyLeader of the Opposition, former President of the Fiji Court of Appeals (1937-2022)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Jai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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