Makana
Gift from Hawaiian culture.
Name Census estimates that about 824 living Americans carry the first name Makana. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Makana today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makana births was 2007 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makana. 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 Makana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
824
~ 1 in 415,964 Americans
Peak year
2007
43 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,558
Tracked since 1986
Census
Makana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 791 people with the first name Makana, which placed it at #14,777 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
#14,777
National first-name rank
People counted
791
791 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Two or more races
34.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makana is Two or More Races at 34.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.1%) and White (18.3%). 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 Makana 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 Makana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Two or more races34.0% · 269
- Asian and Pacific Islander28.1% · 222
- White18.3% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino16.2% · 128
- Black or African American3.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Makana
Makana is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 834 total registrations, 498 (59.7%) were male and 336 (40.3%) were female.
Makana as a male name
- Ranked #5,558 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (29 births)
Makana as a female name
- Ranked #7,091 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Makana on both sides of the split. Of the 800 people counted with this name, 491 were male (61.4%) and 309 were female (38.6%).
Popularity
Makana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makana from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 323 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Makana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makana 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 Makana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Hawaii, California, Nevada recorded the most babies named Makana, while Nevada, California, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 105 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makana
The name Makana originates from the Hawaiian language and culture. It is derived from the Hawaiian word "makana," which means "gift" or "present." The earliest known use of this name dates back to the 18th century in Hawaii.
According to historical records, Makana was the name of a Hawaiian kahuna (priest) and prophet who lived during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was known for his prophecies and his opposition to the ruling chiefs of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makana appears in the writings of missionary Hiram Bingham, who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. Bingham documented his encounters with the kahuna Makana and his teachings.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Makana. One of the most famous was Makana Risser Chai (1873-1957), a Hawaiian musician and composer known for his contributions to the development of Hawaiian music.
Another significant figure was Makana Nui (1906-1986), a Hawaiian kahuna and healer who played a crucial role in preserving and reviving traditional Hawaiian healing practices and spirituality.
In the 20th century, Makana Risser Nui (1922-1997) was a renowned Hawaiian artist and sculptor, known for his works that celebrated and depicted Hawaiian culture and mythology.
Makana Chock (1938-2018) was a prominent Hawaiian educator and activist who advocated for the preservation of Hawaiian language and culture.
More recently, Makana Sandalwood (born 1977) is a Hawaiian singer-songwriter and musician who has gained recognition for his fusion of traditional Hawaiian music with contemporary styles.
While the name Makana may have variations in spelling or pronunciation across different cultures, its Hawaiian origins and meaning as a "gift" or "present" remain closely tied to its historical significance and usage.
People
Makana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makana 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
Makana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 824 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makana 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 415,964 US residents.
Is Makana a common name?
We classify Makana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 834 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makana most popular?
The single biggest year for Makana was 2007, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makana is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 791 people with the name Makana, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,777 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 Makana 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 Makana?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Makana on both sides of the split. Of the 800 people counted with this name, 491 were male (61.4%) and 309 were female (38.6%). 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 Makana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makana is Two or More Races at 34.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.1%) and White (18.3%). 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 Makana most often in the Census?
Two or More Races is the largest reported group for people named Makana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.0% (269 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 Makana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makana a male name?
Yes, 59.7% of people registered as Makana in the SSA data are male. 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 Makana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makana 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 Makana 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 are called Makana?
You can see how many people share the name Makana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.