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Macaulay

#5,519 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Son of Amhalghaidh

Macaulay has been given to 282 babies in the U.S. since 1990. In 2025 it ranked #5,519 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1992, with 36 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 95% boys, 5% girls all-time.

Babies named Macaulay, 2025

1 in 195,000

Macaulay over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
01020304018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Macaulay over time

In 2025, Macaulay went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19902025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Macaulay: meaning, origin, and history

Son of Amhalghaidh

surname transfer

What Macaulay means

Macaulay means “son of Amhalghaidh”, associated with Amhalghaidh.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Scotland, an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh ("son of Amhalghaidh"). From Ireland, an anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh ("son of Amhlaoibh") or Mac Amhlaidh ("son of Amhlaidh"). These Gaelic names are derived from the Old Norse personal name Áleifr and Óláfr.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Macaulay (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Macaulay is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Macaulay is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Mac Amhalghaidh and Mac Amhlaoibh.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Macaulay is pronounced /məˈkɔːli/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 267 boys were recorded with the name Macaulay between 1990 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 36 in 1992; its best national rank was #2,148 in 1992.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #9,227 in 2020 to #5,519 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #13,281 in 2015 to #5,519 in 2025.

In the United States, 15 girls were recorded with the name Macaulay between 1991 and 1994. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1991; its best national rank was #8,341 in 1991.

How common is Macaulay?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 195,000
17 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 100,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#5,519
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
135,172 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Macaulay sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 135,172 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Macaulay. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Macaulays were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Macaulay was born before 2003 — so the typical Macaulay is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
1990s
47.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
52.1%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
267
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1990s — 47.9% of all recorded uses (128).

Is Macaulay rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+1,574
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+3,708
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+7,762
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
3.40×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
47.2%
Peak was 1992 (36)
Years since peak
33
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
29.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#2,148
1992

Where Macaulay is used

Across 1910–2025, Macaulay was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 1,733,778 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Iowa1 in —
  3. 3Ohio1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Macaulay has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Macaulay around the world

Where Macaulay ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,664
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1995–2024
    #352
    in 2024
  • Northern Ireland
    1998–1998
    #272
    in 1998
  • Canada
    1996–1999
    #1,766
    in 1999
  • South Australia
    2002–2002
    #401
    in 2002

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Macaulay by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#5,519
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 3,708
Best rank ever
#2,148
1992
Peak year
1992
36 that year
First recorded
1990
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
267
Count in 2025
17

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#8,341
1991
Peak year
1991
10 that year
First recorded
1991
Last recorded
1994
All-time count
15
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Macaulay

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MacauleyMacariusMacallanMacksonMacklenMaclaneMaclainMacklanMackinnonMacariMachaiMaciahMaclanMacintyreMacraeMacklynMaclinMacgregorMackenzyMacsenFindlayMacleanMacksenMackinley

Sibling names for Macaulay

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Macaulay

Top names of 1992, Macaulay's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1992Boys' names starting with M