Macauley
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ma-KAW-lee
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,021 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #10,690 for boys
Macauley is a boys' name of Scottish origin, meaning “son of Olaf”. In 2025 it ranked 3,021st for boys in the UK (7 babies) and 10,690th for boys in the US (6 babies).
What does Macauley mean?
Scottish: Gaelic surname
“son of Olaf”
From the Gaelic surname Mac Amhlaibh, son of Amhlaibh, the Gaelic form of the Norse name Olaf.
Is Macauley a girl's or a boy's name?
Macauley is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 7 boys in the UK and 6 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Macauley in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #3,021among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 7about 1 in 43,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 40% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 7 boys in the UK were named Macauley, making it the 3,021st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,052nd. Its busiest year was 1996, with 583 boys.
Half of all the boys named Macauley in the UK since 1996 were born between 1996 and 2007. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,938th in England and Wales.
Macauley in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #3,021 |
| 2024 | 7 | #3,003 |
| 2023 | 12 | #2,024 |
| 2022 | 9 | #2,457 |
| 2021 | 11 | #2,100 |
| 2020 | 11 | #2,052 |
| 2019 | 9 | #2,399 |
| 2018 | 23 | #1,243 |
| 2017 | 25 | #1,197 |
| 2016 | 24 | #1,234 |
| 2015 | 30 | #1,046 |
| 2014 | 25 | #1,162 |
| 2013 | 31 | #1,002 |
| 2012 | 41 | #840 |
| 2011 | 41 | #819 |
| 2010 | 54 | #658 |
| 2009 | 57 | #629 |
| 2008 | 69 | #547 |
| 2007 | 80 | #472 |
| 2006 | 53 | #605 |
| 2005 | 67 | #470 |
| 2004 | 67 | #451 |
| 2003 | 58 | #472 |
| 2002 | 62 | #413 |
| 2001 | 79 | #366 |
| 2000 | 102 | #298 |
| 1999 | 154 | #220 |
| 1998 | 171 | #213 |
| 1997 | 276 | #153 |
| 1996 | 583 | #101 |
How popular is Macauley in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #10,690among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 6about 1 in 280,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 6 boys in the US were named Macauley, making it the 10,690th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 12,016th. Its busiest year was 1992, with 24 boys. It first appears in the records in 1991.
Half of all the boys named Macauley in the US since 1880 were born between 1994 and 2009, the years shaded on the chart below.
Macauley in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #10,690 |
| 2024 | 11 | #7,252 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 6 | #10,855 |
| 2021 | 5 | #12,141 |
| 2020 | 5 | #12,016 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 8 | #8,835 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 6 | #10,638 |
| 2014 | 6 | #10,711 |
| 2013 | 6 | #10,722 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 6 | #10,801 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 5 | #12,486 |
| 2008 | 7 | #9,864 |
| 2007 | 8 | #8,909 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 8 | #8,137 |
| 2003 | 7 | #8,636 |
| 2002 | 22 | #3,789 |
| 2001 | 8 | #7,529 |
| 2000 | 13 | #5,290 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,524 |
| 1998 | 8 | #6,837 |
| 1997 | 10 | #5,636 |
| 1996 | 5 | #9,008 |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,922 |
| 1994 | 14 | #4,284 |
| 1993 | 24 | #2,859 |
| 1992 | 24 | #2,828 |
| 1991 | 14 | #3,998 |
Nicknames for Macauley
- Mac 64 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Macauley
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Cameron Bailey Marley Joshua Samuel Riley Brody Finley Benjamin Fraser Alexander Maxwell
Names related to Macauley
More Scottish names
Isla Logan Arabella Bonnie Paisley Carson Brodie Finlay Blair Lennox Skye Knox Dallas Lochlan Reid Lachlan
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Macauley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/macauley, updated 20 October 2026.