How to say it
mac · KEN · zie
/məˈkɛn.zi/
Feminine
Mackenzie
Son of Kenneth
What it means
Scottish surname Mac Coinnich, 'son of Coinneach' (Coinneach being the Gaelic Kenneth, 'comely' or 'fair'). The Mackenzie clan was a major Highland family.
Mackenzie is the anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic Mac Coinnich, 'son of Coinneach.' The Gaelic Coinneach (English Kenneth) means 'comely' or 'fair-born.' The Mackenzie clan was a major Highland family from Ross-shire; their territory was the seat of one of the great Scottish lordships. The Mackenzie River in Canada (the longest in the country) was named for Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie. The first-name usage flipped overwhelmingly feminine in the US during the 1990s and 2000s. It's been in the US top 100 since 2000. The Kenzie spelling and the Kennedy lookalikes both keep it culturally adjacent.
Popularity over time
peaked at #40 in 2001, currently #228 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Kenzie is the standard short and a fully separate name in some families.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Alexander Mackenzie Scottish-Canadian explorer, namesake of the Mackenzie River
- Mackenzie Davis Canadian actress, Black Mirror and Halt and Catch Fire
Spelling variants
- McKenzie
- Mckenzie
- Kenzie
Names with the same feeling
See Mackenzie from another angle
By style