UK girl's name
Makayla
Of Old English origin, meaning pure or blessed.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Makayla is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Makayla popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1541, with 20 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 56 births.
This profile covers 740 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 36% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 801 living people in the UK are called Makayla. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Makayla ranked #1541 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 20 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2011, when 56 girls were registered as Makayla.
- • Makayla ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #384 in 2006.
- • About 801 living people in the UK are estimated to have Makayla as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1541
2024
Births in 2024
20
Latest year
Peak year
2011
56 births
Estimated living
801
2026
Meaning
What does Makayla mean?
The name Makayla is a modern English feminine name that first became popular in the late 20th century. It is likely a combination of the Hebrew name Michaela, meaning "who is like God", and the Gaelic name Kayla, meaning "keeper of the keys" or "slender and fair".
The name does not have any definitive ancient origins or etymological roots. It seems to have been created in the United States as a variation of the more traditional names Michaela and Kayla. The earliest recorded use of the name Makayla appears to be in the 1980s, though it did not gain widespread popularity until the 1990s.
There are no known historical figures or famous individuals from ancient times who bore the name Makayla. However, as the name has become more common in recent decades, there are now several notable people with this first name.
One of the earliest well-known individuals named Makayla was Makayla Malaka, an American singer and actress born in 1992. She starred in several television shows and films throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Another notable Makayla is Makayla McGill, an American gymnast born in 1996. She competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and won a silver medal as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team.
In the world of sports, Makayla Epps is an American professional basketball player born in 1994. She played college basketball for the University of Kentucky before being drafted into the WNBA in 2017.
Makayla Ockerman is an American actress born in 2003, known for her roles in various television shows and films, including the 2018 movie "Wildling".
Makayla Dysinger is an American singer and songwriter born in 1995. She gained recognition through her appearances on the reality singing competition shows "The Voice" and "American Idol".
While the name Makayla is relatively new and does not have a long historical lineage, it has become a popular choice for baby names in recent times, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Makayla over time
The chart below shows babies named Makayla registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Makayla, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 20 births in 2024, compared with 56 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makayla by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Makayla was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1592 | 94 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1118 | 341 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1121 | 283 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2607 | 22 | 4 |
Geography
Where Makayla is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Makayla. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Makayla ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #384 in 2006.
Across the UK
Makayla in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#765 in 2020
13 years of NRS records, 62 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#384 in 2006
1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Makayla
-
Makayla Gerken Schofield
freestyle skier
British freestyle skier
1999-
Related
Names similar to Makayla
- Megan 70,884
- Mia 67,204
- Molly 47,734
- Millie 44,390
- Maisie 32,671
- Matilda 29,965
- Maya 26,445
- Madison 18,441
- Maria 17,304
- Mollie 15,914
- Martha 15,116
- Maddison 14,918
FAQ
Makayla: questions and answers
How popular is the name Makayla in the UK right now?
In 2024, Makayla was ranked #1541 for girls in England and Wales, with 20 births registered.
When was Makayla most popular?
The peak year on record was 2011, with 56 babies registered as Makayla in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Makayla?
Of Old English origin, meaning pure or blessed.
How many people are called Makayla in the UK?
A total of 740 babies have been registered as Makayla across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 62 more in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Makayla most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Makayla ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #384 in 2006. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.