Makaelah
A feminine name with uncertain origins, possibly a modern invented variant of Michaela.
Name Census estimates that about 102 living Americans carry the first name Makaelah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makaelah today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makaelah births was 2010 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makaelah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
102
~ 1 in 3,360,337 Americans
Peak year
2010
11 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,130
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Makaelah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makaelah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 57 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Makaelah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makaelah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Makaelah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makaelah
The name Makaelah is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from a combination of various Biblical and Hebrew names. It does not appear to have a direct linguistic origin or a single cultural source.
One potential root could be the Hebrew name Michal, which means "who is like God" or "brook". This name appears in the Old Testament, belonging to the younger daughter of King Saul and the first wife of King David. However, the spelling and pronunciation of Makaelah differ significantly from the original Hebrew form.
Another possible influence is the name Michael, which is also of Hebrew origin, meaning "who is like God". This name has been widely used across various cultures and religions, including in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The name Michael appears in the Bible as the name of an archangel.
The inclusion of the "Maka" prefix in Makaelah suggests a potential connection to the Hawaiian word "maka", meaning "eye" or "vision". However, this is speculative, and there is no clear evidence of a direct link to Hawaiian culture or language.
In terms of historical figures, it is difficult to find any notable individuals named Makaelah prior to the 20th century, as the name appears to be a modern coinage. However, here are a few individuals with this name:
1. Makaelah Cherie Hanson (born 1989), an American singer and songwriter.
2. Makaelah DeFino (born 1994), an American softball player.
3. Makaelah Nava (born 2001), an American soccer player.
4. Makaelah Gonzalez (birth year unknown), a Canadian singer and musician.
5. Makaelah Cunningham (birth year unknown), an American professional wrestler.
It is worth noting that the name Makaelah has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in North America, but it does not have a well-documented historical lineage or cultural significance beyond its potential Hebrew or Biblical influences.
People
Makaelah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makaelah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Makaelah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makaelah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 102 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makaelah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,360,337 US residents.
Is Makaelah a common name?
We classify Makaelah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 103 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makaelah most popular?
The single biggest year for Makaelah was 2010, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makaelah is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Makaelah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makaelah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makaelah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Makaelah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makaelah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Makaelah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Makaelah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.