Shai Boy & girl
How popular is Shai?
#1,030 boy name in 2025
215 baby boys were named Shai in the US in 2025, making it the 1030th most popular boy name. Another 78 girls got the name (#2,326 for girls).
Shai popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #1,030 for boys (▲ 57 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 215 boys, 78 girls |
| 10-year trend | Rising fast (+330% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #2,485 in 2015, #1,437 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 2023 (224 boys) |
| Highest rank | #977 in 2023 |
| First recorded | 1971 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 66% boys, 34% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.2% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Shai counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Shai family of names ranked #921 for boys in 2025 (#954 the year before), with 227 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Shai | 215 | 95% |
| Shah | 12 | 5% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Shai is most popular
Babies named Shai per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- District of Columbia: 0.3 per 1,000 (5 boys)
- New York: 0.3 per 1,000 (145 boys)
- New Jersey: 0.3 per 1,000 (64 boys)
- Maryland: 0.3 per 1,000 (33 boys)
- Pennsylvania: 0.2 per 1,000 (50 boys)
Shai by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 34 | #3,961 |
| 1980s | 80 | #3,698 |
| 1990s | 254 | #1,870 |
| 2000s | 354 | #2,344 |
| 2010s | 570 | #1,652 |
| 2020s | 1,177 | #977 |
Boy names about as popular as Shai
Questions
- Is Shai a boy or girl name?
- Shai is used for both. Over the last 10 years, 66% of babies named Shai were boys and 34% were girls.
- How popular is the name Shai?
- 215 baby boys were named Shai in the US in 2025, making it the 1030th most popular boy name. Another 78 girls got the name (#2,326 for girls).
- When was Shai most popular?
- Shai peaked in 2023, when 224 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #977 in 2023.
- How many people are named Shai?
- 4,340 babies have been named Shai in the US since 1880. We estimate about 4,293 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 10.
- Where is Shai most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Shai was most common in District of Columbia, at 0.3 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.