Makai
Makai was the 481st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 626 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 200 places. More babies were named Makai in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning toward the sea (Hawaiian word) · Hawaiian
Say it muh-KYE /məˈkaɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #481 boys, up 69 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 626boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025626 babies
- Total since 1880
- 9,609babies recorded
What does the name Makai mean?
Makai looks like the Hawaiian word makai, which means seaward or toward the ocean. Wiktionary analyzes the word as the prefix ma- plus kai, sea. Its opposite is mauka, inland or toward the mountains, and English in Hawaii has borrowed both words for giving directions. Wiktionary's entry for the given name itself gives no origin, and no name dictionary we could check documents why American parents chose it, so the link to the Hawaiian word is likely but not proven.
makai (Hawaiian, “seaward, toward the sea”)kai (Hawaiian, “sea”)
How sure is this? Probable. The word's meaning is well documented; its use as a US given name is not. Treat 'toward the sea' as the meaning of the Hawaiian word the name most likely comes from.
Related names: Makaio.
See also: Hawaiian names, names that mean water.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'makai' (Hawaiian section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'mauka' (Hawaiian section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'makai' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Makai' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Makai
The usual nicknames for Makai are Kai. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Makai in the last five years, 795 were named Kai, against 832 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kai · also for Malachi, Malakai | Modern | #93 | 23,060 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Makais go by each one.
Makai popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 311 since 1997.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #481 | 626 |
| 2020 | #550 | 518 |
| 2010 | #690 | 341 |
| 2000 | #1,988 | 52 |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Makai, counting every spelling?
Makai is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #485 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #481 for Makai on its own. Together these spellings went to 626 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makai | 626 | #481 | 2,902 |
| Macai | — | — | 57 |
| Mackay | — | — | 34 |
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 Makai?
626 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Makai (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Makai 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 13 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Makai.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Makai?
About 9,200 people born in the US named Makai are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Makai 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.
Makai by state
How common Makai was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (4.0×), Georgia (2.5×), Mississippi (2.4×), Nevada (2.0×), Alabama (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Kansas, Idaho, Iowa.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Makai: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Makai, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Makai · Sibling names for Makai
Questions about the name Makai
What does Makai mean?
Makai means “toward the sea (Hawaiian word)” (Hawaiian origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Makai?
Makai was the 481st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 626 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 200 places. More babies were named Makai in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Makai a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Makai in the US.
Where is Makai most popular?
In 2021–2025, Makai was most common in Hawaii (1.35 per 1,000 boys), followed by Georgia and Mississippi.