Given name & surname
Rai
“one who is trustworthy”·“a trustworthy man; of lightning and thunder”
Rai is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who is trustworthy” (Japanese) and “a trustworthy man; of lightning and thunder” (Japanese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Japanese来
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who is trustworthy” (Japanese) and “a trustworthy man; of lightning and thunder” (Japanese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1952. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 520
- 379 boys · 141 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 44 babies
- 2025
- 34
- #3,826 for boys · #16,708 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +101%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 29 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,826 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 81.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (5). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 764 as a first name in 2020; 19,927 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.
Rai’s family of names
In English usage, Rai shares an earlier linguistic root with Roy. Rai has a related form in Ray. In Greek usage, Rai as a surname is a transliteration of Ράη.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 6
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Rai
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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