Kankakee: Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

At a Glance: Name: Kankakee – Meaning: open land or exposed country – Origin: Miami-Illinois – Gender: Unisex – Pronunciation: kang-kuh-KEE


Kankakee is a Miami-Illinois unisex name meaning “open land or exposed country”. It appears in our list of 175+ State-Inspired Baby Names as American as They Come.

Meaning & Origin of Kankakee

Meaning: Open land or exposed country.

Origin: Miami-Illinois.

A common claim: "wolf country" Actually: Kankakee comes from an indigenous Miami-Illinois word for 'open land', not 'wolf country'.

Source: Wikipedia.

How to Pronounce Kankakee

Phonetic: kang-kuh-KEE   IPA: /ˌkæŋkəˈkiː/

Popularity of Kankakee

Kankakee doesn’t appear in U.S. Social Security birth records, which include every name given to at least five babies in a year — so it’s rare in the U.S.

Lists That Include Kankakee

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