Mckayla
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "great fighter" or "fighter of fire".
Name Census estimates that about 12,943 living Americans carry the first name Mckayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mckayla today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mckayla births was 1998 (769 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mckayla. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mckayla with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,482 Americans
Peak year
1998
769 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2004 SSA rank
#2,416
Tracked since 1979
Census
Mckayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,430 people with the first name Mckayla, which placed it at #2,269 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,269
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,430 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mckayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckayla is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.7%) and Black (8.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mckayla described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mckayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 8,024
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 1,225
- Black or African American8.9% · 1,022
- Two or more races6.7% · 764
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 213
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 182
Gender
Gender distribution for Mckayla
Out of the 13,178 babies given the name Mckayla since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Mckayla as a male name
- Ranked #12,569 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 2004 (5 births)
Mckayla as a female name
- Ranked #2,416 in 2024
- 75 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (769 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mckayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,433 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Mckayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mckayla from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5,710 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
Mckayla 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 Mckayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mckaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Mckayla, while Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 241 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mckayla
The given name Mckayla is a modern variant of the traditional Scottish feminine name Michaela, which itself derives from the Hebrew name Michael meaning "who is like God?". The name Mckayla gained popularity in the late 20th century, particularly in the United States and Canada.
The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" in the name Mckayla is a Scottish Gaelic patronymic meaning "son of". It was originally used to denote the patronymic lineage of a person, indicating that the bearer was the son or daughter of someone with the given name that followed the prefix. Over time, the prefix became an integral part of certain given names, including Mckayla.
While the name Mckayla does not have a long historical lineage, it does share its roots with the ancient Hebrew name Michael. The name Michael is found in various religious texts, including the Bible, where it is the name of an archangel. It has been a popular name throughout history and has been borne by numerous notable figures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mckayla can be traced back to the late 20th century. However, it is important to note that due to its relatively modern origin, there are limited historical references or famous bearers of this particular spelling.
That said, here are a few notable individuals who have carried the name Mckayla throughout history:
1. Mckayla Maroney (born 1995) - American former artistic gymnast and Olympic medalist.
2. Mckayla Morton (born 1994) - American basketball player.
3. Mckayla Fruge (born 1995) - American softball player.
4. Mckayla Thiessen (born 1988) - Canadian ice hockey player.
5. Mckayla Kruger (born 1988) - South African cricketer.
While the name Mckayla may not have a long and storied history, its roots can be traced back to ancient Hebrew and Scottish Gaelic origins, reflecting the cultural diversity and modern adaptations that have enriched the world of given names.
People
Mckayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mckayla 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
Mckayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mckayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,943 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mckayla 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 26,482 US residents.
Is Mckayla a common name?
We classify Mckayla as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,178 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mckayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Mckayla was 1998, when 769 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mckayla is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mckayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,430 people with the name Mckayla, or 3.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,269 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mckayla in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mckayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mckayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 11,433 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mckayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mckayla is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.7%) and Black (8.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mckayla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mckayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (8,024 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Mckayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mckayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mckayla 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 Mckayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mckayla 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 Mckayla 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.
How many Americans are named Mckayla?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.