Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Wai isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 262
- 174 boys · 88 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 26 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1999. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 13 in 1982. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,502 as a first name in 2020; 1,469 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.
Wai’s family of names
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Wai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tai
“a very big woman” · “one who is talented and prosperous”
80% boys · 20% girls
Anand
“joy, delight, pleasure”
90% boys · 10% girls
Dusty
“a brave fighter; from a dusty place”
71% boys · 29% girls
Ky
Ky is a feminine given name.
89% boys · 11% girls
Kirby
“from the church town” · “from the village with the church”
48% boys · 52% girls
Tory
“victorious woman; winner; conqueror” · “one who pays homage to Ireland”
58% boys · 42% girls
Tobi
“God is good” · “The Lord is good”
60% boys · 40% girls
Sacha
“helper and defender of mankind” · “helper and defender of people”
87% boys · 13% girls