Thirty years of Kai
Kai in numbers
Kai peaked in 2010 with 1,308 boys and has fallen since, to 672 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 1999 and 2002, from 584 to 1,037. It ranked 161st in 1996, reached 56th in 2003 and ranks 78th now. On average it was given to 430 boys a year in the late 1990s, 1,035 in the 2000s, 892 in the 2010s and 686 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-9%735 to 672
- 5 years+16%579 to 672
- 10 years-13%775 to 672
- 20 years-34%1,024 to 672
- Since 1996×3212 to 672
- Total, 1996 to 202525,104boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 78 · ONS · 735 in 2024
Rank 40 · NRS · 84 in 2024
Rank 44 · NISRA · 37 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 78 | 672 | -9% | 1 in 447 |
| 2024 | 72 | 735 | +6% | 1 in 415 |
| 2023 | 74 | 693 | -13% | 1 in 437 |
| 2022 | 72 | 799 | +25% | 1 in 389 |
| 2021 | =91 | 639 | +10% | 1 in 501 |
| 2020 | 103 | 579 | +2% | 1 in 543 |
| 2019 | 109 | 569 | -10% | 1 in 578 |
| 2018 | =100 | 634 | -8% | 1 in 532 |
| 2017 | 93 | 691 | -13% | 1 in 504 |
| 2016 * | 87 | 794 | +2% | 1 in 448 |
| 2015 | 86 | 775 | -10% | 1 in 462 |
| 2014 | 77 | 858 | -14% | 1 in 416 |
| 2013 | 64 | 1,002 | -7% | 1 in 358 |
| 2012 | 63 | 1,075 | -11% | 1 in 348 |
| 2011 | 56 | 1,211 | -7% | 1 in 306 |
| 2010 | 56 | 1,308 | +29% | 1 in 284 |
| 2009 | 68 | 1,012 | -4% | 1 in 358 |
| 2008 | 68 | 1,057 | -12% | 1 in 343 |
| 2007 | 62 | 1,198 | -1% | 1 in 296 |
| 2006 | 63 | 1,213 | +18% | 1 in 282 |
| 2005 | 66 | 1,024 | -2% | 1 in 323 |
| 2004 | 62 | 1,044 | -7% | 1 in 314 |
| 2003 | 56 | 1,119 | +8% | 1 in 285 |
| 2002 | 59 | 1,037 | +12% | 1 in 295 |
| 2001 | 64 | 922 | +28% | 1 in 330 |
| 2000 | 73 | 723 | +24% | 1 in 428 |
| 1999 | 89 | 584 | +11% | 1 in 547 |
| 1998 | 100 | 528 | +33% | 1 in 617 |
| 1997 | 112 | 397 | +87% | 1 in 830 |
| 1996 | 161 | 212 | 1 in 1,573 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Kai
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Kai is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate
Kai is in our lists: Short baby names.