Makaio
Masculine · “gift of the Lord”
Makaio is the Hawaiian of Matthew — gift of God, in Hebrew — rebuilt from the eight consonants Hawaiian has.
How old is the name Makaio?
Makaio first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Makaio is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,300 people named Makaio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Makaio most popular?
Makaio peaked in 2024, reaching #1459 nationally. Today it ranks #2125, 666 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mattityahu to Makaio
The story of Makaio
Missionaries wrote Hawaiian with a very small alphabet, and biblical names entering the language had to be reconstructed from what it has — Matthew became Makaio, Mark became Mareko, John became Keoni. These are genuine rebuilds rather than translations. Makaio appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
gift of the Lord
Through Matthew, from the Hebrew Mattityahu — mattan, 'gift', and Yahu, the divine name. Hawaiian has no t or th and every syllable must end in a vowel, so the name was rebuilt as Makaio. The Hebrew is transparent and the phonological rebuild documented.
How the name formed
- Mattityahu
- Matthew
- Makaio
Related forms: Makaio · Matthew · מתתיהו
Pronouncing Makaio
mah-KY-oh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hawaiian gives every vowel a full value with no reduction.
Nicknames for Makaio
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1998
- Most boys named
- 2024124 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1459reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −45.2%68 in 2025, from 124
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Makaio in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Makaio in Hawaiian — same name
- Matthew in English — related form
- מתתיהו in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Hawaii, Texas.
Makaios among us
people named Makaio are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 25,119 born in 2025 was named Makaio
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Daven test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Makaio's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Daven climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Daven's path sketches the road Makaio is walking now.
Makaio sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Makaio is headed
Makaio looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 31% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Makaio beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Makaio in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Hawaiian rebuilt Matthew from a tiny alphabet is a first-rate piece of language history.
- The gift-of-God meaning is transparent and undisputed.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- Its connection to Matthew is invisible without explanation.
- It reads as specifically Hawaiian.
- It will need spelling out on the mainland.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Makaio to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Makaio? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Makaio
Masculine · #2125 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Makaios are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Makaio are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Makaio in 2025?
- Makaio ranks #2125 among US boy names in 2025, with 68 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Makaio?
- About 1 in every 25,119 US boys born in 2025 was named Makaio — 68 in all.
- Will my child share the name Makaio with classmates?
- Makaio will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Makaio
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ayce#2125 · Kyran#2125 · Younes#2125 · Younis#2125 · Raziel#2125 · Arvin#2125 · Kyrell#2125 · Von#2125
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Makaio? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Makaio and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle