Meaning and background
The story behind Sai
Sai represents several surnames rather than one uniform name. The dictionary distinguishes multiple Chinese characters, Vietnamese forms Sái and Sài, and a possible Shan title recorded as a surname in American records. It specifically cautions that the Shan title is not a personal name in Burma. Original script and family context therefore matter: a meaning belonging to one written Chinese surname should not be assigned automatically to every Sai.
- Origin
- Surname spelling with several Chinese and Vietnamese routes; a possible Shan title route has a specific usage caveat. Source
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About Sai
Recorded as a dog’s name
Sai appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/saɪ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/saɪ/ · primary stress on syllable 1S AY1
/ɛseɪaɪ/EH1 S EY1 AY1
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
Dictionary readings have 1 or 3 syllables.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.