Given name & surname
Vai
“a mighty ruler”
Vai is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a mighty ruler.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a mighty ruler.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2012. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Vai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10
- 5 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 2012
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #17,094 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 17,094 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 270 as a first name in 2020; 238 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.
Vai’s family of names
Vai has a related form in Vae. In Greek usage, Vai as a surname is a transliteration of Βάη. In Greek usage, Vai as a surname is a transliteration of Βαή.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Vai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Bar
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Sayre is a surname.
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Jiwoo
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