Head to head · Girls' names
Mackenzie vs Maisie
#228 vs #233 in 2025
Mackenzie is a whisker ahead (#228 vs #233 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mackenzie is stepping back from its peak, Maisie is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Maisie has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Mackenzie leads 4 measures of 6; Maisie leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #1267 — Maisie higher
- 1900s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #1536 — Maisie higher
- 1910s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #1784 — Maisie higher
- 1920s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #1611 — Maisie higher
- 1930s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #2821 — Maisie higher
- 1940s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #4065 — Maisie higher
- 1950s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #5313 — Maisie higher
- 1960s: Mackenzie —, Maisie #6390 — Maisie higher
- 1970s: Mackenzie #3221, Maisie #5310 — Mackenzie higher
- 1980s: Mackenzie #519, Maisie #5122 — Mackenzie higher
- 1990s: Mackenzie #114, Maisie #2364 — Mackenzie higher
- 2000s: Mackenzie #53, Maisie #1800 — Mackenzie higher
- 2010s: Mackenzie #81, Maisie #911 — Mackenzie higher
- 2020s: Mackenzie #163, Maisie #324 — Mackenzie higher
Maisie stood higher in 8 of 14 decades; Mackenzie has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mackenzie | Maisie |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1267 |
| 1900s | — | #1536 |
| 1910s | — | #1784 |
| 1920s | — | #1611 |
| 1930s | — | #2821 |
| 1940s | — | #4065 |
| 1950s | — | #5313 |
| 1960s | — | #6390 |
| 1970s | #3221 | #5310 |
| 1980s | #519 | #5122 |
| 1990s | #114 | #2364 |
| 2000s | #53 | #1800 |
| 2010s | #81 | #911 |
| 2020s | #163 | #324 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mackenzie
Not charting outside the US.
Maisie
- Scotland#11
- England & Wales#44
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Mackenzie
son of Coinneach — a Gaelic given name meaning "comely, handsome, fair"
Coinneach was long anglicized as Kenneth, which is why the two names are often mentioned together, though they reach English by different routes.
Coinneach → Mac Coinnich → MacKenȝie → Mackenzie
How it traveled
The Gaelic form is Mac Coinnich, "son of Coinneach", the name of one of the great Highland kindreds, centered on Kintail and later Ross-shire. In Middle Scots writing the sound at the middle of the word was spelled with a yogh, a letter that printers eventually replaced with z — which is how a name pronounced Mac-KEN-yee in Gaelic Scotland became Mackenzie on the page and then in the mouth.
Maisie
pearl
Maisie inherits its meaning from Margaret, which comes from Greek margarites, 'pearl'. The nickname itself was never a word — it grew out of Mairead, the Gaelic form of Margaret, worn down in ordinary speech.
Margarites → Margaret → Mairead → Maisie
How it traveled
Margaret traveled far and wide in medieval Europe and picked up dozens of household forms; in Scotland and the Gaelic-speaking west it became Mairead, and from Mairead came Maisie and its older Scots cousin Mysie. For centuries it lived as a spoken pet name rather than a christening name, the sort of thing written in letters and not in registers.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Mackenzie
muh-KEN-zee
Stress on the middle syllable. Some speakers say MAK-ken-zee with a fuller first vowel; both are ordinary in American English. The historical Scots Mac-KEN-yee is no longer used for the given name.
- Kenzie — By far the most common short form, and also given on its own as a full first name.
- Kenz — Informal, mostly spoken among friends and family rather than written.
- Mac — Used for bearers of either sex; also a standalone nickname for many Mac- and Mc- surnames.
- Mackie — Informal and affectionate, less common than Kenzie.
- Also Kenna.
Maisie
MAY-zee
The s sounds like a z. Occasionally read as MAY-see by people who have only seen it written; one correction usually settles it.
- Maise — Clipped spoken form; almost never written down.
- Mais — One-syllable version used within families rather than formally.
- Margaret — Not a nickname but the formal name behind it — some parents register Margaret and use Maisie every day, which gives a longer option later.
Who has carried each name
Mackenzie
Mackenzie Foy (b. 2000) — Played young Murph in Interstellar
Mackenzie Davis (b. 1987) — Halt and Catch Fire and Terminator star
Maisie
Maisie Williams (b. 1997) — Game of Thrones' Arya Stark
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mackenzie if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMackenzie is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMackenzie runs 3 syllables, Maisie 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Kenzie, Kenz and Mac
- a name that feels very nowMackenzie is stepping back from its peak
Choose Maisie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 177 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaisie is 2 syllables to Mackenzie's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooMaisie is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 56% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 77% for Mackenzie
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Mackenzie
Strengths
- A spelling that most English speakers can hear once and write correctly, since the surname is widely known.
- Kenzie is an established, ready-made short form, with Mac and Kenz behind it.
- Documented as a clan name in the Scottish Highlands for centuries, with a clear line back to Gaelic Coinneach.
To consider
- Three spellings circulate — Mackenzie, McKenzie and Makenzie — plus a capital-K variant, so a Mackenzie will spend a fair amount of life confirming which one is hers.
- The name is strongly represented among people now in their twenties and thirties, so it may read as belonging to that cohort rather than to a newborn — though it is stepping back from its peak, which tends to make a name feel less dated over time.
- As a surname, Mackenzie is still given to boys and used as a family name, so a girl may occasionally meet the assumption that it is a last name or a boy's.
Maisie
Strengths
- Short, spelled the way it sounds once the z-sound is known, and easy for a small child to say and write.
- Sits on top of Margaret, so it can honor a Margaret in the family while sounding nothing like her.
- In continuous use in Britain, so it is familiar rather than invented — a known name on both sides of the Atlantic.
To consider
- Maisy, Maizie and Mazie all exist, and one of them belongs to a very well-known picture-book mouse. Expect to spell it out fairly often.
- It is a diminutive by origin and stays informal in tone; there is no built-in longer version unless you register Margaret and use Maisie in daily life.
- The American wave is very recent, so most Maisies here are young children — there are few adult namesakes to point to yet, though Britain has had them for generations.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Mackenzie
77%chance Mackenzie feels dated by 2040
Mackenzie is coming down from a big peak (#40 in 2001). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Maisie
56%chance Maisie feels dated by 2040
Maisie is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Mackenzie and Maisie in full.
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Decide together
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Long and elegant: names with room to breathe
- Generation Z names (born 1997–2012)
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- all guides
Where Mackenzie and Maisie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mackenzie or Maisie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mackenzie or Maisie?
- Mackenzie, in 2025: Mackenzie ranked #228 with 1,343 babies; Maisie ranked #233 with 1,328 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mackenzie or Maisie?
- Maisie. Over the last five years Mackenzie moved down 109 places; Maisie moved up 177 places.
- Which is the older name, Mackenzie or Maisie?
- Mackenzie entered the US charts in 1973; Maisie entered the US charts in 1890. On the American record, Maisie is the older name.
- How many people are named Mackenzie and Maisie?
- About 140,000 people named Mackenzie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,000 people named Maisie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mackenzies or Maisies in the classroom?
- Mackenzie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maisie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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