Given name & surname · also Chinese

Tsai

Tsai is a surname from Mandarin, ultimately from Wade–Giles.

Meaning & origin

Where it comes from

Tsai comes from Mandarin, and ultimately from Wade–Giles.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1997. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Tsai through the years

Babies since 1880
10
10 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1997
5 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
012320002025Highest share 19970.0
Tsai in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1997–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2005. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 313 as a first name in 2020; 12,211 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.

Tsai’s family of names

In English usage, Tsai as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with CHOI. In English usage, Tsai as a surname has a related form in Cai. In English usage, Tsai as a surname has a related form in Cai.

Walk Tsai’s family in the name graph

TsaiΤσάηΤσάιCaiTsayTs'aiChoi才

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 3

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Spellings & scripts 2

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 Tsai

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Tsai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Macedonian · Modern

Trajan

“to last (to endure, continue over time)”

0Not recently recordedEasing

>99% boys

Chinese · Modern

Zhi

“a woman of high moral character” · “one who has good intentions”

0Not recently recordedCooling

>99% boys

Chinese · Modern

Phi

Phi is a masculine given name from Chinese. It is used in Vietnamese.

0Not recently recorded

91% boys · 9% girls

Chinese · Modern

Luk

Luk is a surname from Cantonese. It is used in English, Dutch, Slovak, and Walloon.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Chinese · Modern

Feng

Feng is a surname from Mandarin.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Chinese · Modern

Peng

Peng is a surname from Mandarin.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Chinese · Modern

Wei

“one who is valuable and brilliant” · “a brilliant man; having great strength”

13Very rare

79% boys · 21% girls

Vietnamese · Modern

Trong

“one who is respected”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Tsai’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.