Fun Facts About the Name Bai
- 15 babies named Bai: U.S. records list 15 babies given the name Bai from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Bai - about 1 boy for every 2 girls.
What Does the Name Bai Mean?
Bai is a Chinese given name meaning "white." It comes from the Mandarin pronunciation of the character 白 (bái), whose basic sense is the color white. The same character can also mean plain, clear, or bright in different contexts, but "white" is the core meaning. As a personal name, Bai is simply this character used as a given name. In Chinese names, the family name comes first, so the Tang poet Li Bai (李白) had Li as his surname and Bai as his given name. The character 白 also serves as a Chinese surname; that surname has its own family-history traditions and is not the same as the given name's meaning.
Bai Name History & Origins
The character 白 is an ancient Chinese word for "white." In Chinese naming, a single character can stand alone as a given name, and 白 has been used as a personal name; the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai (701 - 762) is a well-known example, with Li as his surname and Bai as his given name. This is a famous literary and historical use, not necessarily the earliest instance of the name.
The same character also serves as a Chinese surname. Traditional surname histories trace that surname to figures such as Bai Gongsheng, a noble of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period, or to an ancient state of Bai, but those are separate family-line traditions. The given name Bai does not depend on the surname's origin.
In English, "Bai" represents the Mandarin pronunciation. Wade-Giles romanization writes it as "Pai." The character is read as Baek in Korean and Bạch in Vietnamese, where it belongs to different naming systems.
How Popular is the Name Bai?
Bai has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2005. Its best rank was #6,132 in 1979.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | #16,856 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #13,193 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | #6,132 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Most Popular Girl Names That Start with B
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How the Name Bai Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Bai's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bai's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.