Shai is a distinctive choice, ranked #5892 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Shai in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#5892
About the Name Shai
Shai has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 1993 places in five years. It was most popular in 1997 at #1126 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Shai is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Shai
Unlikely. With around 3 UK babies named Shai per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Shai in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Shai has been declining in UK popularity, dropping 1993 places in the last five years. Its peak was #1126 in 1997. Choosing it now means he is likely to be among the last of his generation with this name.
Shai 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 Shai include: Shai Hope — Shai Diego Hope is a Barbadian cricketer, who plays as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the West Indies cricket team.; Shai Klapper — Shai Klapper is an Israeli aluf who has served as commander of the Home Front Command of the Israel Defense Forces since 2025.; Isaac Shai — Isaac Shai is a South African former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder..
Shai does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Shais in the wild.
3
UK babies named Shai (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
< 1
In a school of 600
↓ 1993 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Shai
Likely around 1 other Shai in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Shai
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Shai Diego Hope is a Barbadian cricketer, who plays as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the West Indies cricket team. He is also the current ODI &T20I captain of the West Indies cricket team.
Shai Klapper is an Israeli aluf who has served as commander of the Home Front Command of the Israel Defense Forces since 2025. Klapper served as commander of the Golani Brigade from 2018 until 2020, when he was replaced in the role by Barak Hiram.
Isaac Shai is a South African former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Shai played club football for Mamelodi Sundowns; he also earned seven caps for the South African national side between 1997 and 2002.
Hezi Shai is a former tank commander in the Israeli Defense Forces. During the 1982 Lebanon War, he was one of five Israeli soldiers declared missing in action after their tanks were hit during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
Shai Agassi is an Israeli entrepreneur known for his involvement in the electric vehicle industry. He is the founder and former CEO of Better Place, which had developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuel technology.
Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of fate in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating one gender over another, Shai was sometimes considered female, rather than the more usual understanding of being male, in which circumstance Shai was referred to as Shait (simply the feminine form of the name).
Shai Reshef (Hebrew: שי רשף) is an Israeli entrepreneur and academic administrator. He is the founder and president of the University of the People (UoPeople).
Shai Davidai is an Israeli former assistant professor of business at Columbia Business School known for his outspoken advocacy for Israel and against the Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus protests and occupations during the Gaza war. After the October 7 attacks on Israel and subsequent Gaza war, Davidai's pro-Israel activity led him into conflict with Columbia University students, faculty, and administrators.