Given name & surname
Thai
“man from Thailand”
Thai is used as a given name and a surname. One Vietnamese interpretation is “man from Thailand.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Vietnamese interpretation is “man from Thailand.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Vietnamese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Thai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,426
- 1,214 boys · 212 girls
- Most popular year
- 2004
- 52 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,846 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −34%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,846 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,623 as a first name in 2020; 12,899 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.
Thai’s family of names
Thai may belong to the same name family as TTHAI. This is a tentative spelling connection.
The ring: spellings.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Thai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nhat
“having a long life”
>99% boys
Thang
“one who is victorious”
94% boys · 6% girls
Hao
“one who is perfectly behaved” · “a good man”
>99% boys
Liem
“an honest man”
>99% boys
Tin
“a great thinker”
>99% boys
Bao
“to order” · “one who is prized”
>99% boys
Trong
“one who is respected”
>99% boys
Danh
Danh is a surname.
>99% boys