Makaio is the Hawaiian form of Matthew and therefore means "gift of God", from the Hebrew Mattityahu. It belongs to the group of Hawaiian names such as Kainoa and Makoa that mainland parents have discovered in the last two decades. Makaio has risen from number 11505 in 2000 to a peak of number 1465 in 2024 and stands at number 2137 in 2025.