Cai is a distinctive choice, ranked #687 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Cai in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#687
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About the Name Cai
Cai has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 96 places in five years. It was most popular in 2002 at #272 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Cai is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Cai in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Cai
Cai Xuetong — Cai Xuetong (Chinese: 蔡雪桐; pinyin: Cài Xuětóng; Mandarin pronunciation: [tsʰâɪ ɕɥè tʰʊ̌ŋ]; born 26 September 1993) is a Chinese snowboarder.
Cai Dexian — Cai Dexian is a Singaporean Major General who has been serving as Chief of Army since 2025.
Cai Ming (actress) — Cai Ming is a Chinese singer, actress, and sketch comedy performer.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Cai
Unlikely. With around 52 UK babies named Cai per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Cai in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Cai is declining: down 119 places since 2020, to #687 in 2025. It peaked at #214 in 2006.
Cai is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Cai include: Cai Xuetong, Cai Dexian and Cai Ming (actress). Short summaries for each appear below.
Cai does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Cais in the wild.
52
UK babies named Cai (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 119 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Cai
Almost certainly the only Cai in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Cai
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Cai Yuanpei, spelt Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei (Wade–Giles: Ts'ai4 Yüan2-p'ei2) during his lifetime, was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education.
Xun Cai (荀采; fl.2nd century), courtesy name Nüxun (女荀), was a Chinese noblewoman and poet from the late Eastern Han dynasty to the early Three Kingdoms period.