girl's name
Makayla
muh-KAY-luh
- Origin American
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 114,879
the United States
#567
2025 births
Makayla is one of a large family of respellings of Michaela, and the name underneath is a question — Michael means who is like God, expecting the answer nobody. It peaked in 2008, and holds 109,239 lifetime births.
- Makayla is a name of American origin.
- Peaked in 2008, when 5,963 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,255 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1971.
Makayla over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 83 |
| 1980s | 593 |
| 1990s | 20,109 |
| 2000s | 55,099 |
| 2010s | 27,893 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,406 |
What Makayla means
Makayla means who is like God, carried from Michaela and Michael. The Hebrew is a rhetorical question rather than a statement, asserting that God has no equal.
Where Makayla comes from
Makayla respells Michaela, the feminine of Michael — the Hebrew Mikha'el, mi, who, kha, like, el, God. It is one of very few names that is grammatically a question, and the expected answer is nobody. The Ma- spelling is American and late twentieth-century, arriving with Mikayla, Michaela, Mikaela and McKayla, which divided one sound between them. The slender or fair readings sometimes given for Makayla have no basis in the Hebrew and appear to be invented.
Makayla in use
Makayla peaked in the United States in 2008, when 5,963 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 567th in the United States on 530 births, 652nd in Ireland on 5 and 1431st in England and Wales on 22, across 114,879 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it only from 1971.
How popular is Makayla?
In 2025, Makayla was given to 530 babies in the United States, ranking #567 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Makayla is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Makayla
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Makayla also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Makayla over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Makayla
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Makayla in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Makayla
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Makayla — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Makayla
What does the name Makayla mean?
Who is like God — a rhetorical question expecting the answer nobody.
Is Makayla the same as Michaela?
Yes, an American respelling of it, alongside Mikayla, Mikaela and McKayla.
Does Makayla mean slender or fair?
No — those readings have no basis in the Hebrew and appear to be invented.
How popular is Makayla?
567th in the United States, down from a 2008 peak of 5,957 births.
Is Makayla a girl's or a boy's name?
Makayla is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Makayla?
Makayla is usually shortened to Kayla and Mac.
Is Makayla a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Makayla currently ranks #567 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.