GENDER: Masculine or Feminine

PRONUNCIATION: ma-KEN-zee

ETYMOLOGY: The name is of Gaelic origin and is generally thought of as Irish, but is a fairly common Scottish surname. The original meaning is son of Coinneach' and by extension son of the fair one.'

ORIGIN & HISTORY: In Scottish history the name can be traced as a surname to Johannes MacKenzie who owned lands in Killdin in 1606, and Gilchrist Makkingze who was a arrested and tried for a felony in 1513. The family MacKenzie Blazen of Arms is an Azure (blue) stags head cabossedor, between three fleur-de-lis. Blue is associated with the church symbolizing loyalty and truth. The fleur-de-lis symbolizes faith, wisdom and valor. The MacKenzie crest is a mountain in flames representing high aspirations and hope. Motto: "Luceo Non Uro" meaning "I shine but do not burn."

POPULARITY: As a first name the name Mackenzie appeared on U.S. rating lists for females around 1980 and has since risen to a ranking of 53 in 2006, In Canada (BC) from 2003 through 2006 it has ranked above 30, and in Australia for the same time period 60 or above for females. For male first names it has not faired so well, in the U.S. it appeared around 1980, then had a surge of popularity through the nineties but never above its highest at 366 in 1994 and has dropped out of the top 1000 popular boys names in the U.S. since 2000. This brief popularity as a male first name could possibly be due to the up and coming career of Mackenzie Aston, son of Patty Duke and John Aston.

FACTS: William Lyon Mackenzie was a famous Canadian journalist and political rebel. Born March 12, 1785 in Dundee Scotland. Died August 5, 1861 Toronto, Canada. First mayor of the city of Toronto in 1834.

NAMESAKES:
"The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada originating at the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories and flowing north to the Arctic Ocean. The lake is named after Alexander Mackenzie." (Wikipedia)

The Clan Mackenzie America is an active society celebrating their Scottish heritage and famous name annually. The society also has a Canadian Chapter.

Mackenzie LTD. is an on-line gourmet food store founded by an Englishman who had a love of gourmet foods and Scottish Smoked Salmon.

FAMOUS PERSONS:
Mackenzie Phillips (actress) Born November 10, 1959 in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A. Mackenzie was first noticed for her role in the seventies movie "American Graffiti", and landed a role on a TV sitcom "One Day At A Time" From 1978 to 1981. Mackenzie has guest starred in TV movies, series, and has had regular role on the TV series "So Weird" from 1999 to 2001.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada as an explorer and adventurer. He set out to prove the Cook River in Alaska could provide a route from Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The mythical Northwest Passage was never discovered but, Mackenzie did set out with in 1789 with a crew of French-Canadians and his wife from Fort Chipewyan, Canada and reported back 100 days later that all he found was yet another passage to the Arctic Ocean. He did discover the northern passage to the Pacific later in 1793 with a crew of 9 by canoing along the Peace River making him the first European North of Mexico to travel overland to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and Clark did not finish plotting their route until 1805.

NAME VARIANTS: Kenzie m. or f. - English; Makenzie f. English; McKenzie m. or f. English

Learn more about this author, Glenda K. Fralin.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Behind the name: Mackenzie?
We want to hear your view. Write now!