Makayla
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Meaning
modern variant spelling of Michaela, "who is like God"
The story
Makayla is a modern English spelling of Michaela, the feminine form of Michael. Its Hebrew root is a question, 'Who is like God?', meant not as a boast but as an answer: no one. The history is ancient; this spelling is not. Makayla barely appears in the early American record, stirs in the 1970s and 1980s, then rises sharply through the 1990s and 2000s as parents embraced phonetic spellings and the whole Michaela, Mikayla, Mckayla family. It reached its high stretch in the 2000s and 2010s and has fallen noticeably since, the clear arc of a generation-defining spelling. That does not make it less real. Every old name was once a new form, and Makayla turned a biblical question into a sound that belonged unmistakably to turn-of-the-century America.
Makayla across languages
One shared root links 16 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Mikha’el, "who is like God?" The question expresses that nobody is God’s equal; Michael is a biblical angel
The constellation
10 more branches of this family
How popular is Makayla around the world?
In the United States, 4,406 babies were named Makayla between 2020 and 2025.
Makayla is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, Ireland, England and Wales, Argentina and Mexico City.
United States
1 in 4,900
In the United States, 4,406 babies were named Makayla between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Makayla peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Makayla went to 2,263 US babies in 2015 and 530 in 2025, 23% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Makayla in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 34 girls named Makayla were born in 2024, the 835th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 11,000
In Ireland, 5 girls named Makayla were born in 2025, the 608th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 27,000
In England and Wales, 22 girls named Makayla were born in 2025, ranked 1,407th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
1 in 110,000
In Argentina, 6 newborns were given the name Makayla in 2024.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Makayla in 2022.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
last on record 2022
Makayla is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Makayla is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2017
Makayla is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2020
Makayla is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Makayla
Most people given the name Makayla in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Makayla travels
African American · A documented choice in Black American families.
Keep exploring
Names like Makayla · Names that go with Makayla · African American baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Makayla deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Makayla truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Makayla fits with your family’s names and surname.
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