Unisex name · since 1981
Chai
Chai has 384 recorded births since 1981 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1993 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #9,234 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,019 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 384
- born since 1981
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Chai is the #11019 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 384 recorded since 1981.
Chai has 384 recorded births among boys since 1981, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11019 as of the latest data, more common than 21% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1981 to 2025.
- #9,234 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #11,019 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 384 born since 1981
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Chai ranks #9,234 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,019 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 384 born since 1981, peaking in the 1990s.
- #9,234 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,019 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 384
- born since 1981
- 1990s
- peak decade
Chai's 384 recorded births place it above 79.66% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 2 jurisdictions, led by California.
How Chai compares
384 Top 50% higher than 50% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Chai's all-time total is 4% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Chai | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 384 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 16 | 34 | 22,252 |
Chai's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Chai's full recorded timeline at 2002, 45% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 55% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1998, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1993 peak of 16 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Chai popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1981–2025
- Peak year (1993)
- 16
- Annual births at peak, across 45 years of records
Chai popularity over time - girls
263 total births recorded since 1977 (Chai as girls' name)
Chai by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (105 births, 27% of the file).
1990s was Chai's strongest decade.
105 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 27% of all-time use.
Chai births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s
1980s
87 births
- 1990s
1990s
105 births
- 2000s
2000s
91 births
- 2010s
2010s
50 births
- 2020s
2020s
51 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 105 births (27% of all-time use).
Chai by state
Where Chai concentrates geographically, total births since 1981
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 55 | 14.3% |
| #2 | New York | | 7 | 1.8% |
55 of 384 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Chai's data
- Chai's usage has stayed within range of its 1990s decade-level peak (105 total births) through the 2020s (51) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Chais (55 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Chai
Nearby Names Like Chai
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Chai
Compare Chai side by side: Chai vs Charles Chai vs Chad Chai vs Charlie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Chai
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Chai: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1993)
Similar record span (~44 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1981–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Chai draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.