Makeda
Feminine · “Uncertain”
Makeda is the name Ethiopian tradition gives to the Queen of Sheba. The Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an both tell her story without naming her; the Ethiopian Kebra Nagast, compiled by the fourteenth century, names her Makeda and makes her the mother of Menelik I, founder of the Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia until 1974.
How old is the name Makeda?
Makeda first appears in US birth records in 1968 — 57 years ago. The typical Makeda alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 1,700 people named Makeda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Makeda most popular?
Makeda peaked in 1985, reaching #1458 nationally. Today it ranks #7133, 5,675 places below that high. See the whole 1985 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ማክዳ (Makeda) to Makeda
The story of Makeda
The Kebra Nagast, the Glory of Kings, is the foundational text of Ethiopian national identity: it tells how the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, bore his son, and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Axum. That text gives her the name Makeda, which appears in no earlier source. The name entered American use through Rastafari and pan-African naming from the 1960s and 1970s, when Ethiopian history became a reference point for Black cultural identity in the Americas — which is what produces its 1985 American peak.
Meaningnot established
Uncertain; a proper name in Ge'ez tradition
Makeda is a name rather than a word, and no reliable etymology is established. Suggested readings include a connection to Ge'ez roots for greatness and a link to the Macedonian name via later legend, but neither is supported. Sources offering "pillow" or "greatness" are not citing anything verifiable. The historical identity behind the name is itself uncertain — Sheba may be in Yemen rather than Ethiopia.
How the name formed
- ማክዳMakeda
- Makeda
Related forms: ማክዳ · Makəda
Pronouncing Makeda
mah-KAY-dah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Amharic gives a shorter middle vowel, closer to mah-KEH-da. English speakers sometimes say muh-KEE-duh, lengthening the wrong vowel.
Nicknames for Makeda
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
- 1968
- Most girls named
- 198585 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1458reached in 1985
- Change vs 2024
- −28.6%15 in 2025, from 21
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.
Makeda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- ማክዳ in Amharic — same name
- Makəda in Ge'ez — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, New York, Georgia.
Makedas among us
people named Makeda are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 107,151 born in 2025 was named Makeda
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 Tinamarie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Makeda's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tinamarie climbed just as high around 1968, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tinamarie's path sketches the road Makeda is walking now.
Makeda 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
Makeda beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Makeda in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It carries a specific and substantial place in Ethiopian and pan-African tradition.
- The three-syllable shape with central stress is easy and memorable.
- It is genuinely uncommon without being invented.
- No meaning can be given honestly; the name is a name, not a word.
- The historical claim behind the tradition is disputed by scholars.
- Makeda, Makena and Maketa will be confused with each other.
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Makeda
Feminine · #7133 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Makedas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Makeda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Makeda in 2025?
- Makeda ranks #7133 among US girl names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Makeda?
- About 1 in every 107,151 US girls born in 2025 was named Makeda — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Makeda with classmates?
- Makeda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Makeda
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Pennie#7133 · Zina#7133 · Elzie#7133 · Rosabel#7133 · Adelene#7133 · Cruz#7133 · Kansas#7133 · Ione#7133
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Makeda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Makeda and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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