Kaia

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kaia is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Portuguese given name3.0K records spelled Kaia7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, United Kingdom, Estonia

  Also written Kaiã, Kaía, Kaïa, Kaiá, Kåïã

• Estonian given name2.1K records spelled Kaia3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Estonia, United States, Finland, Norway

  Languages: Estonian, Finnish

  Also written Kai︠a︡

• Russian surname368 records spelled Kaia28 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Kazakhstan

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek

  Also written Кая, Кайа, Kaya, Кайя, Kaja

• a separate given name289 records spelled Kaia2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Norway, Estonia

  Also written Káia

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kaia is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Norwegian Nynorsk, definite singular of kai

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, aus Hawaii stammender weibl. Vom., weibliche Form von

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In Estonian, a female given name, variant of Katariina (“Catherine”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In nys, hello

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 65 years between 1955–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Kaia Ivab. 1964EEEstonian politician (1964–2023)
• Kaia Sisaskb. 1967EEEstonian translator and editor (born 1967)
• Kaia Varjordb. 1978NONorwegian actress
• Kaia Kanepib. 1985EEEstonian tennis player (born 1985)
• Kaia Fossb. 1987NONorwegian actress and producer
• Kaia Parnabyb. 1990AUAustralian softball player
• Kaia Aruab. 1990PGPapua New Guinean cricketer
• Kaia Wøien Nicolaisenb. 1990NONorwegian biathlete
• Kaia Katerb. 1993CACanadian banjo player
• Kaia Gerberb. 2001USAmerican model and actress (born 2001)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 573 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kaia?

We estimate roughly 14 thousand people bear Kaia (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Kaia have the most bearers?

We estimate about 11 thousand people bear Kaia in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled kaia.

Where is Kaia most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Kaia is densest in Norway — about 1 in 4.0 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Kaia compared with other names?

In Norway, Kaia is the 609th most common given name of 38,312 given names recorded there.

Is Kaia a male or female name?

Kaia is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Kaia mean?

Recorded meaning: definite feminine singular of kai