Kairi
Kairi was the 1041st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 239 babies. Its best year was 2019, when it ranked 689th with 421 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 272 places. More babies were named Kairi in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning video-game name; Estonian coinage · Japanese, Estonian
Say it KY-ree /ˈkaɪɹi/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,041 girls, down 215 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 239girls
- Girls and boys
- 88% girls, 12% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2019421 babies
- Total since 1880
- 6,825babies recorded
What does the name Kairi mean?
Kairi has more than one source. In the US its rise follows Kairi, a heroine of the Kingdom Hearts video games (from 2002); in Japanese the name can be written with characters such as 海 'sea' and 里 'village', so its meaning depends on the writing. In Estonian, Kairi is a modern coinage that Wiktionary suggests may combine Kai (Catherine) and Maria. SSA records it from the 1970s.
海 (kai) (Japanese, “sea”)里 (ri) (Japanese, “village”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. No single origin; the video-game influence is inferred from timing.
See also: Japanese names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kairi' (Estonian section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Kairi popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,041 | #2,958 | 239 | 42 |
| 2020 | #826 | #3,304 | 330 | 34 |
| 2010 | #960 | #10,211 | 267 | 7 |
| 2000 | #16,213 | #7,822 | 5 | 8 |
| 1990 | — | #8,795 | — | 5 |
| 1980 | #11,094 | #5,227 | 5 | 7 |
| 1970 | — | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Kairi, counting every spelling?
Kairi is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #810 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,041 for Kairi on its own. Together these spellings went to 335 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kairi | 239 | #1,041 | 1,354 |
| Keiry | 69 | #2,556 | 388 |
| Kairy | 20 | #6,012 | 62 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kairi?
239 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kairi (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kairi born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 35 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kairi.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kairi?
About 6,200 people born in the US named Kairi are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 6 and 15. That makes Kairi a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Kairi by state
How common Kairi was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Arizona (2.0×), Utah (1.8×). In 20 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kairi: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kairi, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kairi · Sibling names for Kairi
Questions about the name Kairi
What does Kairi mean?
Kairi is usually explained as “video-game name; Estonian coinage”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Kairi?
Kairi was the 1041st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 239 babies. Its best year was 2019, when it ranked 689th with 421 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 272 places. More babies were named Kairi in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Kairi a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 88% girls, 12% boys given the name Kairi in the US.
Where is Kairi most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kairi was most common in Hawaii (1.48 per 1,000 girls), followed by Arizona and Utah.