Given name & surname
Sakai
“one who is prosperous”
Sakai is a variant of Sakae. One Japanese interpretation is “one who is prosperous.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Sakai is a variant of Sakae. One Japanese interpretation is “one who is prosperous.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Sakai is a variant of Sakae. An origin associated with Sakae is Japanese.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Japanese 堺 (Sakai), from Japanese 酒井 (Sakai), from Japanese 坂井 (Sakai), from Japanese 境 (Sakai).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1998. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sakai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 644
- 554 boys · 90 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 131 babies
- 2025
- 131
- #1,398 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +359%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 131 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,398 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 365.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Pennsylvania had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 269 as a first name in 2020; 2,045 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.
Sakai’s family of names
Sakai has a related form in Sakae. In Japanese usage, Sakai is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 宇. In Greek usage, Sakai as a surname is a transliteration of Σακάι.
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 5
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.
Similar names
If you love Sakai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.