Macauley

#11,486 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Variant of Macaulay

Macauley has been given to 290 babies in the U.S. since 1991. In 2025 it ranked #11,486 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1992, with 24 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 90% boys, 10% girls all-time.

Babies named Macauley, 2025

1 in 553,000

Macauley over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Macauley over time

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

19912025

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.

Macauley: meaning, origin, and history

Variant of Macaulay

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Macauley means

Macauley is a variant of Macaulay.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Macauley is used in English (British).

Another recorded pronunciation is /mə.ˈkɔː.li/ for Macauley.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Macauley → Macaulay. The family’s meaning is “son of Amhalghaidh”, recorded in English with the source elements Amhalghaidh.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Macaulay.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 260 boys were recorded with the name Macauley between 1991 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 24 in 1992; its best national rank was #2,886 in 1992.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,310 in 2020 to #11,486 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #11,573 in 2015 to #11,486 in 2025.

In the United States, 30 girls were recorded with the name Macauley between 1991 and 1998. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1992; its best national rank was #8,472 in 1992.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Macauley?

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

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 553,000; 6 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 285,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #11,486; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 382,984 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Macauley 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 382,984 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Macauley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Macauleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Macauley was born before 2000 — so the typical Macauley is around 25 today.

Median birth year: 2000; About 25 years old
Biggest decade: 1990s; 45.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 50.0%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 260; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1990s — 45.0% of all recorded uses (117).

Is Macauley 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: −3,934; Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago: +1,824; Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago: +87; Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago: 1.00×; More babies than then
Share of its own peak: 25.0%; Peak was 1992 (24)
Years since peak: 33; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 34.2% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,886; 1992

Macauley around the world

Where Macauley 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
#2,952
in 2025
Scotland
1995–2010
#638
in 2010
Northern Ireland
1997–2009
#329
in 2009
Canada
2016–2016
#2,748
in 2016
South Australia
1992–2012
#514
in 2012

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.

Macauley by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #11,486
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Up 1,824
Best rank ever: #2,886; 1992
Peak year: 1992; 24 that year
First recorded: 1991
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 260
Count in 2025: 6

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #8,472; 1992
Peak year: 1992; 10 that year
First recorded: 1991
Last recorded: 1998
All-time count: 30
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Macauley

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

Mackinley Macaulay Macarius Macallan Mackson Macklen Maclane Maclain Macklan Grantley Mackinnon Macari Maciah Machai Maclan Macintyre Macrae Macklyn Maclin Mackenzy Macgregor Macsen Maclean Woodley

Sibling names for Macauley

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

For a sister

Breonna Danyelle Kristian Jessika Salena Shanice Ciera Breanne

For a brother

Elizabeth Coty Brandan Bradly Derrell Trever Garrick Laron

Explore around Macauley

Top names of 1992, Macauley's peak year The 1990s in full Other names that peaked in 1992 Boys' names starting with M