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By Brynn McKeon · Oct 2026

Shai

OriginHebrew
Meaning"gift"
Also a girl's nameShow me Shai as a girl's name

About Shai

Shai, pronounced like shy, might morph to rhyme with may among native English speakers. This simple and attractive name is sometimes confused with or anglicized as Shay or even the Irish Shea.

As of October 2026, Shai ranked #1032 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #981 in 2023, Nameberry popularity #590.

Editor's take: The name Shai is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift".

Popularity & trends

US popularity — history
US rank, lower is more popular · SSA data 2014–2025
Actual · SSA
#1,000#2,000#3,000TOP 1000'14'16'18'20'22'24
20142025
18802025
Data table
YearUS rankBirthsPer million
2014#3,2073518.2
2015#2,5205026.1
2016#2,4705227.4
2017#2,1066635.7
2018#1,9747541.3
2019#1,6569854.6
2020#1,44712069.5
2021#1,072199113.7
2022#1,019219125.4
2023#981224131
2024#1,086200116.1
2025#1,032215125.9
Popularity history from more than a century of Social Security Administration birth records. Years without a line are years the name fell below the published records.

See the Berry Trend for All Names

World rankings

#32❄️ Unique#187↔️ Unisex#590🫐 Nameberry#866🔮 Future

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Famous Shais

  • Shai James

    American reality TV personality ("New York Ink")

  • Shai Alexander

    Australian actor

  • Shai Linne

    American Christian rapper

  • Shai Aleksander Chmerkovskiy (b. 2017)

    son of dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd

  • Luca Shai Bellour (b. 2011)

    son of designer Rebecca Minkoff and Gavin Bellour

Shai in pop culture

  • Shai

    personified concept of fate in Egyptian mythology

  • Shai

    American R&B group

Shai in blog posts

Unique Twin Names to Inspire
100+ Best Girl Names Ending in a Vowel
Truly Gender-Neutral Names: The Most Balanced of Them All

Save Shai

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Save Shai

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