Declining since 2007.
Popularity of Makailah since 1994
Babies named Makailah per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 60 |
| 2000s | 306 |
| 2010s | 153 |
| 2020s | 28 |
Meaning & origin
Makailah is a modern American name that emerged in the 1990s, first recorded in 1994. It belongs to a family of creative spellings of Michaela, a feminine form of Michael. While the variant Makayla has seen widespread popularity, Makailah remains uncommon. Its popularity peaked in 2008, and since 2007 its usage has been steadily falling. The name is most often given to girls, and in its best year, it was given to fewer than 50 babies nationwide, resulting in no ranking. Makailah reflects the broader trend of phonetic respellings that add a distinctive touch to familiar sounds.
Makailah is a modern American coinage, part of the late 20th-century trend of inventive 'M'-starting feminine names ending in '-a' or '-ah'. It is a respelling of Makayla, which itself derives from the Hebrew name Michaela, the feminine form of Michael, meaning 'who is like God?'. The name first appeared in U.S. records in 1994 and saw modest popularity, peaking in 2008.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Mak, Kayla, Lah-Lah
Sibling names for Makailah
Names that share Makailah's style, for a brother or sister.
