Alakai
Masculine · “leader”
Alakai is a leader in Hawaiian — alaka'i, one who guides — and it also names a rain-soaked swamp on Kauai, among the wettest places on earth.
How old is the name Alakai?
Alakai first appears in US birth records in 1996 — 29 years ago. The typical Alakai is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Alakai are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alakai most popular?
Alakai peaked in 2023, reaching #1558 nationally. Today it ranks #1808, 250 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Where it comes from
From ala ka'i to Alakai
The story of Alakai
The Alaka'i Swamp sits at over a thousand meters on Kauai and receives some of the highest rainfall recorded anywhere; it holds species found nowhere else. Alakai is a genuine Hawaiian name. It appears in the American registers rising through the 2000s and is in current use.
Meaning
leader, guide
From the Hawaiian alaka'i, 'to lead' or 'a leader', built on ala, 'path', and ka'i, 'to lead along'. The word is ordinary Hawaiian and the meaning undisputed. The Alaka'i Swamp on Kauai carries the same word.
How the name formed
- ala ka'i
- Alaka'i
- Alakai
Related forms: Alakaʻi · Alakaʻi
Pronouncing Alakai
ah-lah-KY
Three syllables, stress on the third. Hawaiian marks a glottal stop before the last syllable that English drops.
Nicknames for Alakai
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1996
- Most boys named
- 2023112 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1558reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −20.0%88 in 2025, from 110
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alakai in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alakaʻi in Hawaiian — same name
- Alakaʻi in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Hawaii.
Alakais among us
people named Alakai are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,410 born in 2025 was named Alakai
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Alakai
- #1808
- Alakai on the 2025 chart
- #830
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Alakai went to 88 boys in 2025, but Alakay is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 98, which makes it the 830th most-given boys’ name of the year — 978 places above the chart.
- Alakai88
- Alakay10
About 1 boy in 17,429 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 19,410 for Alakai itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ubaldo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alakai's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ubaldo climbed just as high around 1975, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ubaldo's path sketches the road Alakai is walking now.
Alakai sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alakai is headed
Alakai looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 32% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alakai beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alakai in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The leader meaning is transparent, undisputed and unusually strong.
- Kai is available as a short form that is fully current.
- A genuinely remarkable place on Kauai carries the same word.
- The Hawaiian glottal stop is lost in the English spelling.
- Three syllables and an end stress are unfamiliar in English.
- It carries an expectation the bearer has no control over.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Alakai to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Alakai? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Alakai
Masculine · #1808 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alakais are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Alakai are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Alakai?
- Alakai is the most-used spelling in US records — 88 of the 98 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Alakay.
- How popular is the name Alakai in 2025?
- Alakai ranks #1808 among US boy names in 2025, with 88 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alakai?
- About 1 in every 19,410 US boys born in 2025 was named Alakai — 88 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alakai with classmates?
- Alakai will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alakai
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Honor#1808 · Tamir#1808 · Gentry#1808 · Callaway#1808 · Arsiah#1808 · Avrohom#1808 · Tyree#1808 · Presley#1808
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alakai? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alakai and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle