Makailah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Michaela.
Name Census estimates that about 540 living Americans carry the first name Makailah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makailah today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makailah births was 2008 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makailah. 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
540
~ 1 in 634,730 Americans
Peak year
2008
45 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,725
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Makailah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makailah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 306 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makailah 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 Makailah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makailahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Makailah, while Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makailah
The name Makailah is a relatively modern name with roots that can be traced back to the Hebrew language and culture. It is believed to be a combination of the Hebrew elements "mak" meaning blessing and "ilah" meaning God, suggesting the name means "blessed by God" or "God's blessing."
One of the earliest recorded instances of a similar name can be found in the Bible, where the name Micah (pronounced me-kah) appears as the name of a prophet in the Old Testament. While not an exact match, the similarity in sounds and the shared Hebrew roots suggest a possible connection between Makailah and this ancient biblical name.
Throughout history, variations of the name Makailah have been used, with spellings such as Mikayla, Michaela, and Micaela appearing in various cultures and languages. However, the specific spelling of Makailah appears to be a more recent interpretation, becoming more popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with a name similar to Makailah was Micah, the Hebrew prophet who lived in the 8th century BCE. He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea and is known for the biblical book that bears his name.
In more modern times, a few notable individuals have carried variations of the name Makailah. One example is Mikaela Shiffrin, an American alpine ski racer born in 1995, who has won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals.
Another notable individual is Michaela Coel, a British actress, writer, and director born in 1987, known for her critically acclaimed series "I May Destroy You."
Micaela Schäfer, a German model and actress born in 1983, is another public figure with a variation of the name.
Mikaela Shiffrin, mentioned earlier, is not only a successful athlete but also an author, having published a memoir titled "Courage to Soar" in 2022.
While the name Makailah itself may be relatively new, its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, as well as its historical connections to biblical figures like the prophet Micah, give it a rich and meaningful background.
People
Makailah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makailah 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
Makailah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makailah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 540 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makailah 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 634,730 US residents.
Is Makailah a common name?
We classify Makailah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 547 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makailah most popular?
The single biggest year for Makailah was 2008, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makailah is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Makailah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makailah 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.
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.