Mackensey
A Scottish feminine name meaning "born of fire".
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Mackensey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mackensey today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mackensey births was 2001 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mackensey. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mackensey with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
2001
13 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2008 SSA rank
#19,344
Tracked since 1992
Census
Mackensey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Mackensey, which placed it at #41,537 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mackensey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mackensey is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mackensey described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mackensey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 146
- Black or African American6.3% · 11
- Two or more races4.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 4
Popularity
Mackensey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mackensey from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 60 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mackensey by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mackensey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mackensey
The name Mackensey originates from the Scottish Gaelic language, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "ennsidh," which translates to "resourceful" or "ingenious." This combination suggests that Mackensey was initially a surname bestowed upon someone recognized for their resourcefulness or ingenuity.
Early recorded instances of the name can be found in ancient Scottish clan records and historical documents from the 13th century. One notable bearer of the name was Mackensey of Arran, a prominent figure in the Scottish Isles during the late 14th century, renowned for his strategic prowess and diplomatic skills in navigating the complex political landscape of the time.
As the name evolved over the centuries, it gradually transitioned from a surname to a given name. One of the earliest known individuals to bear Mackensey as a first name was Sir Mackensey Douglas, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the early 14th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Mackensey. Mackensey Culkin, born in 1980, is a renowned American actor best known for his role in the iconic Christmas film "Home Alone." Mackensey Rosman, born in 1989, is an American actress who gained recognition for her portrayal of Ruthie Camden in the long-running television series "7th Heaven."
In the literary realm, Mackensey Tolkien, born in 1892 and died in 1973, was the youngest son of renowned author J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of the legendary "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" book series. Mackensey Tolkien played a significant role in preserving and promoting his father's literary legacy.
Another notable figure was Mackensey MacLeod, a Scottish explorer and adventurer who lived from 1856 to 1935. He was renowned for his daring expeditions across remote regions of the Scottish Highlands and his contributions to the field of natural history and cartography.
While the name Mackensey has its roots in Scottish Gaelic, it has since transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity in various regions around the world, making it a truly global name with a rich historical tapestry.
People
Mackensey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mackensey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mackensey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mackensey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mackensey going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Mackensey a common name?
We classify Mackensey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 119 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mackensey most popular?
The single biggest year for Mackensey was 2001, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mackensey is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mackensey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Mackensey, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mackensey in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mackensey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mackensey leans strongly female. 160 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 7 male bearers (4.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mackensey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mackensey is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mackensey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mackensey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (146 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mackensey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mackensey a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mackensey in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mackensey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mackensey in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mackensey can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Mackensey as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.