The baby name Makenna is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced muh-KEN-uh (IPA: /məˈkɛnə/).
Makenna is Irish, Scottish Gaelic in Origin.
The baby name Makenna is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced muh-KEN-uh (IPA: /məˈkɛnə/).
Makenna is Irish, Scottish Gaelic in Origin.
Makenna is a modern given name built on the Irish and Scottish surname McKenna, itself from Gaelic Mac Cionaoith/Mac Cionaodh, “son of Cionaodh (Aodh).” Aodh is the old Celtic god-name meaning “fire,” so the underlying sense is “descendant of Aodh,” often interpreted today as “child of fire” or “fiery one.” Because McKenna overlaps with Kenneth (Gaelic Coinneach, “handsome”), some sources connect the name with “handsome,” though this is a later folk link. The similar form Makena also exists in East Africa (Kikuyu: “the happy one”), which occasionally colors modern associations.
As a given name, Makenna rose in North America in the 1990s and 2000s amid the popularity of Irish surnames as first names and the Mak-/Mc- trend. It is used mainly for girls. Variants and related forms include McKenna, Mckenna, MacKenna, Makena, Makenah, and Kenna; spellings fluctuate across the Anglophone world, but pronunciation typically mirrors Mc-KEN-na or mah-KEN-na.
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE | Girls | 0 | #142 | 1 | 1,888 |
| SI | Girls | 0 | #177 | 1 | 2,769 |
| HU | Girls | 0 | #225 | 1 | 3,308 |
| Canada | Girls | 2024 | #248 | 38 | 2,795 |
| HK | 0 | #357 | 1 | 8,483 | |
| OM | Girls | 0 | #424 | 1 | 15,987 |
| United States | Girls | 2024 | #430 | 587 | 8,487 |
| PT | Girls | 0 | #471 | 1 | 7,952 |
| RU | Girls | 0 | #522 | 2 | 11,913 |
| CR | Girls | 0 | #567 | 7 | 11,342 |
| AE | Girls | 0 | #596 | 2 | 20,968 |
| BR | Girls | 0 | #992 | 1 | 12,708 |
| ZA | Girls | 0 | #1,235 | 2 | 25,928 |
| MX | Girls | 0 | #1,267 | 1 | 17,781 |
Makenna is popular in 14 countries — most recent births per country:
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