Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Makenna

The name Makenna is presumably an altered spelling of the Hawaiian place name Makena. Makena is derived from the Hawaiian word “mak’ke” meaning ‘many gathered’ and is located on the southwestern side of the island of Maui. One story of origin suggests that Makena received its name when many people traveled and gathered there to collect coral for the building of the Po’okela Church in Makawao in the 19th century. Makena is also historical in that the first European explorer, the French Captain Jean-François de La Pérouse, landed there. Today, La Perouse Bay is located in the area known as Makena. It is also steeped in ancient Hawaiian mythology involving the fire/volcano goddess Pele. Jealous of the beautiful lizard maiden sunning herself on the south shore, Pele spit fire from the Haleakalā volcano and split the maiden in two – the head becoming the area known as Pu’u Ola’i, and the tail represented by the Molokini islet. Makena is a beautiful and still relatively unpopulated area of Maui, where the sun always shines in the shadow of the volcano and the beaches are pristine.

All About the Baby Name – Makenna

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME MAKENNA

The number Five personality loves the excitement of life and can easily adapt to all situations. As natural adventurers, these personalities thrive on the new and unexpected and prefer to be in constant motion. It makes them feel alive. They'll stir up some action if there's not enough around, and as inherent risk-takers they enjoy pushing the envelope. Naturally rebellious, the Five personality has no fear and never resists change.  Traveling and new experiences feed their souls. Fives are very social and attract friends with ease. People love to be around the Five fun-loving and exciting energy.  This is also a lucky number in numerology (like the Threes), so fortune seems to shine on them, helped along by their own optimism and good-nature. Fives have a quick wit, a cerebral mind, and are generally very persuasive. 

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME MAKENNA

Makenna is a name that has only been in use in America for less than 20 years. Makenna first appeared on the U.S. popularity charts in 1994, right as the Maui resort area known as Makena was becoming better known through development. In the first five years of Makenna’s existence on the American naming charts, she made some pretty substantial jumps. However, in the past decade, the name appears to be chilling out closer to the Top 200 list. Makena and Mckenna are alternate spellings of Makenna which together make the name quite a bit more popular than first meets the eye. Even though we are ascribing a Hawaiian origin to the name, it is also likely that Makenna developed in America in reaction to the popularity of names like Makenzie and Makayla. But the Hawaiian connection is a lot more cheerful and fun!

Quick Facts

ON MAKENNA

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

American

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

247

PRONUNCIATION:

ma-KEN-ah

SIMPLE MEANING:

Many gathered

Characteristics

OF MAKENNA

Freedom-loving

Adventurous

Adaptable

Intellectual

Easygoing

Progressive

Sensual

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Makenna

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME MAKENNA

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Makenna

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME MAKENNA

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Makenna


Popular Songs

ON MAKENNA

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Makenna


Famous People

NAMED MAKENNA

We cannot find any celebrities or significantly famous people with the first name Makenna.

Children of Famous People

NAMED MAKENNA

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Makenna

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME MAKENNA

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Makenna