Makaylyn
A feminine name of American origin, possibly a variant of Makayla.
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the first name Makaylyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makaylyn today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makaylyn births was 2012 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makaylyn. 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
213
~ 1 in 1,609,175 Americans
Peak year
2012
18 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,591
Tracked since 1994
Census
Makaylyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 197 people with the first name Makaylyn, which placed it at #38,754 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
#38,754
National first-name rank
People counted
197
197 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makaylyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makaylyn is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Makaylyn 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 Makaylyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 129
- Black or African American21.8% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 10
- Two or more races4.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 6
Popularity
Makaylyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makaylyn 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 99 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
Makaylyn 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 Makaylyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makaylyn
The name Makaylyn is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the late 20th century. It appears to be a variant spelling of the name Mackenzie, which is derived from the Scottish surname MacKenzie. The MacKenzie surname itself is of Gaelic origin, meaning "son of the fair, bright one" or "son of the wise leader."
While the name Makaylyn does not have any direct historical references or appearances in ancient texts, its roots can be traced back to the Gaelic language and culture of Scotland. The earliest recorded examples of the name Makaylyn are from the late 20th century, coinciding with the increasing popularity of unique and creative baby names.
Due to the name's modern origins, there are no famous historical figures with the name Makaylyn. However, it's worth mentioning a few individuals with the similar name Mackenzie who have gained recognition throughout history:
1. Mackenzie Bowell (1823-1917) was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Canada from 1894 to 1896.
2. Mackenzie King (1874-1950) was a Canadian politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Canada, holding office for over 21 years.
3. Mackenzie Crook (born 1971) is an English actor and writer, best known for his role as Orell Garrigrich in the HBO series "Game of Thrones."
4. Mackenzie Phillips (born 1959) is an American actress and author, known for her roles in the sitcoms "One Day at a Time" and "American Graffiti."
5. Mackenzie Dern (born 1993) is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the UFC's strawweight division.
While the name Makaylyn may not have a rich historical background, its origins can be traced back to the Gaelic language and Scottish culture, contributing to its unique and creative appeal in modern times.
People
Makaylyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makaylyn 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
Makaylyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makaylyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makaylyn 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 1,609,175 US residents.
Is Makaylyn a common name?
We classify Makaylyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 216 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makaylyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Makaylyn was 2012, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makaylyn is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makaylyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 197 people with the name Makaylyn, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,754 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 Makaylyn 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 Makaylyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makaylyn leans strongly female. 186 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Makaylyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makaylyn is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Makaylyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Makaylyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (129 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 Makaylyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makaylyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makaylyn 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 Makaylyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makaylyn 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 Makaylyn 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 common is the name Makaylyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.