Kai

Meaning: Its source is a Chinese expression meaning "Earth."

Languages: This boy's name is used in Chinese, Hawaiian, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Compound Forms: Kyden

Popularity: The name Kai ranked 323rd in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics.

Narrative: Its Scandinavian source is a Greek expression meaning ''Earth.''

In Hawaiian, the name means ''Sea water.''

Depending on the tone and character associated with the name, its Chinese meaning can be ''Victorious,'' ''Open,'' ''Start'' or ''Ideal.''

Leadership

Chiang Kai-shek (born 1887, died 1975)
Chinese Nationalist leader who set up an independent government in Taiwan after the communists took control of mainland China.
- President of China, 1928-31 and 1943-49; president of Taiwan, 1950-75 (see list of Miscellaneous Political Leaders)

Miscellaneous

Chiang Kai-shek (born 1887, died 1975)
Chinese Nationalist leader who set up an independent government in Taiwan after the communists took control of mainland China.
- 1937 Time Magazine Man of the Year (see list of Time Magazine's Man of the Year Honorees)

Science and Philosophy

Kai M.B. Siegbahn (born 1918)
Swedish physicist known for his work on spectroscopy. Son of 1924 Nobel prize-winning physicist Karl Siegbahn.
- Winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics, with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Schawlow (see list of Winners of the Nobel Prize for Physics)


Kaia
Kaiya
Kaya
Kea
Kei
Kia
Kiyo
Kieu
Kawa
Kwaw
Kaya
Kaiya
Koi

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Meaning: Its source is an English expression meaning "Happy."

Popularity: The name Kai ranked 3378th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: Though the male Kay probably comes from the Latin name Gaius, meaning ''happy,'' this female version more likely started as a nickname for names beginning with the letter K, especially Katherine, Karen and Kathryn.

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