# Macaulay (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/macaulay/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “son of amhalghaidh”, “son of amhlaoibh”, “son of amhlaidh” |
| Pronunciation | /məˈkɔːli/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 282 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 267 / 15 (5% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 931, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 10 | 8,348 |
| 1994 | 5 | 14,789 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 5 | 12,494 |
| 2007 | 7 | 10,467 |
| 2008 | 7 | 10,602 |
| 2009 | 6 | 11,906 |
| 2010 | 5 | 13,505 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,315 |
| 2015 | 5 | 13,287 |
| 2018 | 6 | 11,618 |
| 2019 | 9 | 8,622 |
| 2020 | 8 | 9,232 |
| 2021 | 8 | 9,364 |
| 2022 | 16 | 5,780 |
| 2023 | 14 | 6,386 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7,098 |
| 2025 | 17 | 5,521 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 1,600 |
| 2012 | 18 | 1,367 |
| 2013 | 20 | 1,247 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1,673 |
| 2016 | 11 | 2,027 |
| 2017 | 11 | 2,052 |
| 2018 | 12 | 1,875 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,404 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,125 |
| 2022 | 9 | 2,320 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,007 |
| 2024 | 12 | 1,951 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2,664 |

## People named Macaulay

- Macaulay Culkin, American actor and singer (born 1980)
- G. M. Trevelyan, British historian (1876–1962)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.