The baby name Mackenzie leapt from the small screen to the top of the popularity charts.
Thanks to Ellen for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME MACKENZIE MEAN?
This Scottish surname comes from a given name that meant attractive. It ultimately traces back to the Old Irish name Cainnech, from cain – handsome or beautiful.
The personal name Coinneach, or Coinnich is Anglicized as Kenneth.
So the surname, Mac Coinneachor Mac Coinnich, is said to mean “son of Kenneth.”
Clan Mackenzie features in the history of Scotland from the twelfth century onward, complete with plenty of castles and a familiar tartan.
In Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, members of the Mackenzie family feature across the centuries.
MACKENZIE AS A GIVEN NAME
Like many surnames, Mackenzie has been in sparing use for over the centuries, especially for boys.
- A late nineteenth century Canadian prime minister, Mackenzie Bowell is one notable.
- British artist Mackenzie Thorpe made his name in the 1990s.
- Actor Mackenzie Astin joined the cast of The Facts of Life as Andyin 1985. He’s acted steadily ever since, most recently seen in series like The Magicians, You, and The Pitt.
LAURA MACKENZIE PHILLIPS
The world met actress Mackenzie Phillips in 1973, when she made her big screen debut in hit movie American Graffiti.
She became a household name as Julie Cooper in 1970s decade-defining sitcom One Day at a Time.
Way before we’d ever heard the term nepo baby, Mackenzie was the daughter of John Phillips, member of legendary folk quartet The Mamas & the Papas. She’d eventually write a harrowing memoir about her childhood and early adult years. But that was in 2009, long after her name had become established as a 1990s favorite.
Phillips has continued to act, most recently appearing in Orange is the New Black.
GIRLS’ NAMES ENDING IN IE
We’ve always loved three-syllable girls’ names ending in IE or Y.
In 1976, the US Top 100 included Stephanie, Melanie, and Valerie. The baby name Mackenzie, with a hint of Scotland and a stylish sound, fit right in. It debuted in the US Top 1000 that year.
The names followed in a long-established pattern. From Dorothy to Kimberly to Natalie to Destiny, every generation features a few popular girls’ names sharing the same rhythm.
Plenty of them – starting with Kimberly and continuing through 2020s favorites like Everly and Emery – started out as last names.
GENDER-NEUTRALITY
Like many surnames, Mackenzie trended for boys and girls at the same time. It would debut in the boys’ Top 1000 in 1985. Strictly speaking, Mackenize is a unisex name, and nickname Mack, rhymes with Jack, emphasizes its wearability for a son.
Actor Mackenzie Astin first became famous as a child star. He played Andy on The Facts of Life. He’s most recently been seen in a recurring role in Netflix’s You. Chances are that Astin’s rise to fame in the 1980s explains the name’s debut on the boys’ charts.
MANY MACS
But during the 1990s, the Macs and Mcs were predominantly stylish names for girls.
In addition to Top 100 Mackenzie, other Mac/Mc names included:
- Mckenzie and Makenzie, two other possible spellings of the name. At peak popularity, spellings like Makenzee, Mckinzie, Mykenzie, and M’Kenzie were seen.
- Mckenna, a name from the same Gaelic roots as Mackenzie, but with the -a ending, a little more feminine. Makenna was also popular.
- Mckayla took the feminine form of Michael, Michaela, and respelled it to suggest a Scottish origin.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME MACKENZIE?
Always the most popular spelling, the baby name Mackenzie peaked for girls in the year 2001, charting at #40.
Given the many Mc/Mac names and spellings of Mackenzie in use, odds are it felt even more popular.
As of 2023, the name charted at #165.
It’s held up better than Makenna, Mckayla, and similar names.
In more recent years, McKinley has climbed in use, and Kenzie reached the US Top 300 as an independent name in the 2010s.
Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the baby name Mackenzie has also fared well. It remaisn popular in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Canada. It’s mostly fallen out of use in England and Wales, and it never caught on in Scotland.
FAMOUS MACKENZIES
The name’s popularity means that many a Mackenzie appears in headlines now, including:
- Actress Mackenzie Christine Foy, best known as Renesmee in the Twilight movies.
- Reality television includes Dance Moms alum Mackenzie Ziegler, now an aspiring singer.
- Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made her fortune as part of the creation of Amazon. After divorcing her husband, company founder Jeff Bezos, Scott has focused on charitable giving, pledging to donate the majority of her significant wealth and regularly making significant gifts.
Dozens more Mackenzies have excelled in music and the arts.
Listing fictional Mackenzies would take pages more. One of note: Geena Davis starred as main character Mackenzie Allen in Commander in Chief.
ESTABLISHED SURNAME CHOICE
While many of the other Mac/Mc names feel dated, the baby name Mackenzie has a little more staying power.
Maybe it’s Mackenzie’s status as a Scottish name. Or possibly it just fits so well with Delaney and Avery that it continues to feel like a logical choice in the United States.
While it’s no longer among the most popular girls names, Mackenzie feels more like Madison or even Meredith. It’s a solidly established surname choice, one that we’ll continue to hear into the future.
What do you think of the baby name Mackenzie?
First published on July 26, 2012, this post was revised on March 31, 2025.
Those spelling variations just gave me a headache! Ack!
Mackenzie: don’t hate it, but it’s possibly my least favorite of the “hated names” so far this week…
I just found out the other day that the newest American Girl doll (a gymnast who’s getting her own TV movie, presumably to coincide with the Olympics) is named McKenna. Ugh. Thanks a lot, Mattel.
Actually, like most of these so-called “hated names,” I don’t so much hate the name as the way people tend to USE the name (i.e. for no personal reason, just going along with whatever’s popular). Not to mention the nonsensical spellings. If I’d heard the Mackenzie on a girl for the first time back in the 70s (before I was born), I probably would have liked it a lot.
they might have personal reasons, they like how it sounds or what it makes them think of or they know someone with the name. but some people are more limited in their knowledge of names or of what names they think will help their child in life. I think with more exposure to names they might well like Meredith or even Millie or Mildred.
My sister’s middle name is Mackenzie; my mom chose it specifically because she wanted a gender neutral middle name. We all know how well that turned out.
I’ve always wondered why Americans take masculine names like Mackenzie and Meredith and turn them feminine, whereas those same names will remain masculine in the UK.
If one wanted a girl’s name to honor a Kenneth, the choices aren’t great: Kenna, Kendall, Kendra. Kenzie/Kensy is growing on me as a cute choice. I’m still not a fan of the Mac- names though.
kendra is pretty, I think, and I don’t mind Kendall. I knew a Kennalee, but though she was nice and her name is sweet, i just don’t like it as much as Kendra or Mackenzie.
Kendall is a male name.
I believe there are more than 2,500 newborn baby girls in 2011 alone that would suggest Kendall is very much used for girls.
When I was in 1st grade or so in the early 70s I had a female classmate named Mackenzie. I didn’t really like the name (or the girl) back then and I don’t care for it any more today. That -zee sound at the end isn’t very appealing to me.
I don’t hate Mackenzie, but I generally don’t like using family names to which one has no tie. I enjoy seeing family names passed down to boys and girls, or even names that have significance in a favorite author, etc. Several of my familial names have turned popular (Jordan being the most), and it annoys me. I do have one surname on my boy’s list, Bennett. I see it differently, though, as it was originally a given name (the medieval English form of Benedict) before it was a surname. I love it for its Jane Austen associations, too.
*because, not ause. I MUST stop typing on my phone. I keep blundering it.
>:(
Mackenzie, McKinley (or more likely Makinley), Makenna, Makayla Ma-what-the-heck?
It occurs to me that the reason the names this weeks are so despised is ause they’re not very sophisticated. At all. At the core, they sound like names I’d’ve liked as a child, or names that less sophisticated women like. Not that I’m completely mature, or anything, but I believe I have grown a lot since I was naming my Barbies at 12 years old. But sometimes, those names stick, and to me, they represent an unsophisticated choice.
There’s something to that, I think. I once worked with a Mackenzie who is just a few years younger than me. She was Southern and insanely pretty – I suspect it was a family name, but I never asked. The name seemed impossibly sophisticated and smart. But then, that 1992 or so, when Mackenzie was just catching on, and she must have been born in the late 1970s, when the name wasn’t even in the Top 1000. Once a name is everywhere, it does change how I think about it … if say, Sloane becomes a Top 100 name, I wonder if I’ll be dismissive of it in another twenty years. Right now, I like it very much.
Yes, and I liked Sloane enormously when I was 16-19 years old. In that sense, I feel like I’ve matured beyond it, though I have a soft spot for it.
Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada in the first half of the 20th century, not in the 19th century.
The first female Mackenzie I ever met was a classmate in grade three. When I invited her to my birthday party my parents had me spell her name “MacKenzie” because they insisted that the K in the name was capitlised. They were wrong of course. I also recall my dad wondering why someone would name their daughter after a male Canadian Prime Minister.
As with many a name fan, I’m a bit of purist when it comes to names that have “son” in them given to girls (my least favourite is Addison, but that’s mostly because it always makes me think of the disease). Ok, actually I can understand why you might use such a name if it’s a family name since a female equivalent is often hard to come by, but if you’re not honouring your roots I don’t personally get the appeal.
However, as with many a name I dislike, the personal stories shared by parents for the reason for their choice will often sway me in the name’s favour. I really wish I knew why Rowling picked this one. . .
I agree! I would love to know the other names on her short list … I’ve heard that Rowling’s mom was half-Scottish. Maybe there’s a tie there.
Am I missing a Rowling reference?
J.K. Rowling’s second daughter is a Mackenzie.
Same here. I would love to know why Ms. Rowling chose Mackenzie!
I’ve got a couple of theories as to why she picked Mackenzie, but I don’t know if any of them are right… the first is just that I think she tried to give her children more “modern” names than those of her characters, in order to differentiate them. I think that was a really excellent choice, considering the annoyance of her fame in everyday life. (Although I suppose “David” isn’t particularly modern. But I’m convinced that was after David Copperfield.)
The Scottish heritage is probably another factor. And in the Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is actually across the street from where Rowling wrote part of the first book, there are several graves with character names on them. And there’s a grave to “Henry Mackenzie: the Man of Feeling”. I didn’t know anything about him when I visited Edinburgh and saw that, but I did sort of think “hmm”. And then I went and looked him up, and it turns out he was an ardent Tory, which goes against her politics, so probably that wasn’t the inspiration, but…. “The Man of Feeling” does sound very Rowling. And perhaps she liked that, and liked the fact he was an author, and it caused some inspiration.
I don’t know. But it’s fun to theorize.
You are both right about Canadian prime ministers! There are actually three with MacKenzie in their name: Sir Alexander MacKenzie (2nd prime minister), Sir MacKenzie Bowell (5th), and William Lyon MacKenzie King (10th). But really only Bowell has it as a given name.
My bad! Can you tell that I wasn’t actually educated in Canada? That is, apart from a few months spread between Grade 2 and Grade 3. I was born in the country and moved back there to attend university (during which time I didn’t take Canadian history). I’m going to make it a goal now to read the wikipedia articles on every Canadian Prime Minister there was, that way their names might stick.
However, while William Lyon Mackenzie King’s first name wasn’t Mackenzie, that’s usually the name people use to refer to him. It’s funny. All these Mackenzies in Canadian politics in some ways makes this a legitimately Canadian name, if only for boys.
I love the name Mackenzie, and I do like the spelling Mackensie I saw above, though not really any of the others. For me it’s a very canadian name! I always think of a river that’s in northern canada, right? I just picture some sort of Jack London figure off in the wilds of northern canada, and Mackenzie seems perfect for a boy. Although where I live I’m pretty sure most folks see this as a girl name and use those more hideous spellings. Still, if it’s spelled decent, I like it for a girl. It doesn’t matter to me that it means son of Kenneth. You might name your son Mackenzie even if his dad is not Kenneth, so what’s the difference? You might name her Lydia even though she doesn’t come from that part of the world.
seems ridiculous to me to worry about the ‘mac’ part. There were ways of distinguishing daughters, they just don’t make attractive names. The Welsh put Verch in front of the dad’s name verch Hugh (daughter of Hugh), well, you’re not going to name her Verchugh or Verchkenzie, now are you?
Ugh, I really do hate the name Mackenzie. If it is legitimately in your family tree, fine. But otherwise, please be aware that your daughter’s name basically means “son of Kenneth”. I also hate that this name has dozens of spellings. And the Duggars’ Mackynzie is one of the worst baby names I’ve seen in a long while. They redeemed themselves a bit with Michael, but somehow I see Mackynzie’s brother as a Kayden.
I know a 9 yo Mackenzie who goes mostly by Mack. Her sisters are Morg@n and M@dalyn. There are worse sibsets out there, but their mom (a lovely woman!) isn’t winning any Nameberry awards 🙂
My name is Mackenzie, and my dad’s name is Kenneth 🙂 So for me it’s “daughter of Kenneth”.
But it isn’t, it’s “son”.
No, in her case it is daughter of … literally. She was named Mackenzie in honor of her dad. My frustration about the whole “son” argument is that English so often ignores gender. Mankind doesn’t exclude me, but it can feel exclusionary. Instead of “son of,” I firmly believe that we should read “descendant of.” It isn’t as if there is a feminine form, and plenty of women inherited the surname from a male ancestor, too.
The female form of MacKenzie is NicKenzie. Nic means “daughter” just as mac means “son”.