Chai

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

How Chai is read●(measured from records)

Chai is one spelling over 4 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• English42%

  A female gypsy.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Malay24%

  a surname from Hakka

  as a word·recorded as Indonesian·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Chinese11%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Chai in Chinese.

• Swahili6.0%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Chai in Swahili.

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Often considered alongside

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Chai, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Mochi
• Bean
• Peach
• Nori
• Butter
• Lemon
• Dulce
• Brie
• Anise
• Sugar
• Pepper
• Honey

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Chai is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname36 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, Argentina, China

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Chaí, Chaï, Chài, Ćhäì, Čhãï

• Thai given name97 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, India, United States, Malaysia

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Sai, ไทร, ไซ, ใส, Jai

• Indonesian surname6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Singapore

  Also written Çhäí, Chaï, Châi, Çhaį, Çhaï

• Hindi surname10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, India, United States, China

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Çhaí, Chaî, Čhãï, Chài, Chäi

• Korean surname8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, South Korea, United States, Canada

  Also written 채이, Chaeyi, Ćhàí, Chaei, Châí

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Chai is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In cdo, coll.) a general term for vegetables, a small green-billed duck

  as a word·Dictionary of the Foochow Dialect

• In Finnish, clipping of chai latte (“chai latte”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In nv, maternal grandfather, mother's father, grandson (from daughter), daughter's son

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In mch, allomorph of tai used after words that end in i

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Cai Lunb. 48CNnot in their usual nameChinese official credited with inventing paper (died 121)
• Qi Baishib. 1864CNnot in their usual nameChinese painter (1864-1957)
• Cai Yuanpeib. 1868CNnot in their usual nameChinese educator, Esperantist and the president of Peking University (1868-1940)
• Cai Qib. 1955CNnot in their usual nameFirst Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
• Tsai Ing-wenb. 1956TWnot in their usual name14th and 15th President of Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Tsai Ming-liangb. 1957MYnot in their usual nameMalaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker (born 1957)
• Amy Chuab. 1962USnot in their usual nameAmerican law professor and writer (born 1962)
• Jolin Tsaib. 1980TWnot in their usual nameTaiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1980)
• Lauren Tsaib. 1998USnot in their usual nameChinese–American model and illustrator
• Albert Tsaib. 2004USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor (born 2004)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the name Chai come from?

a surname from Hakka Recorded by kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations).

What are other forms of the name Chai?

In the etymology graph, Cha is a form of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Chai?

A machine transcription gives /tʃaɪ/ (IPA) for English.

What does the name Chai mean?

In English, A female gypsy.

In which country does Chai have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 3.6 thousand people named Chai, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled chai.

Where is Chai most common?

Chai is densest in the United States, where the national register counts about 1 in 92 thousand people carrying it.

How common is the name Chai?

In the United States, the national register counted 3,619 people named Chai in 2010, about 1 in 92 thousand residents.

How common is Chai compared with other names?

In Malaysia, Chai is the 138th most common surname of 291,743 surnames recorded there.