Head to head · Girls' names
Macy vs Mckinley
#718 vs #712 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Mckinley is a whisker ahead (#712 vs #718 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Macy leads 3 measures of 6; Mckinley leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Macy #892, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1890s: Macy #1077, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1900s: Macy #1163, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1910s: Macy #1414, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1920s: Macy #1639, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1930s: Macy #1916, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1940s: Macy #2662, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1950s: Macy #3306, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1960s: Macy #3945, Mckinley — — Macy higher
- 1970s: Macy #3074, Mckinley #9380 — Macy higher
- 1980s: Macy #2158, Mckinley #7721 — Macy higher
- 1990s: Macy #402, Mckinley #3024 — Macy higher
- 2000s: Macy #251, Mckinley #1044 — Macy higher
- 2010s: Macy #426, Mckinley #444 — Macy higher
- 2020s: Macy #674, Mckinley #639 — Mckinley higher
Macy stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Mckinley took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Macy | Mckinley |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #892 | — |
| 1890s | #1077 | — |
| 1900s | #1163 | — |
| 1910s | #1414 | — |
| 1920s | #1639 | — |
| 1930s | #1916 | — |
| 1940s | #2662 | — |
| 1950s | #3306 | — |
| 1960s | #3945 | — |
| 1970s | #3074 | #9380 |
| 1980s | #2158 | #7721 |
| 1990s | #402 | #3024 |
| 2000s | #251 | #1044 |
| 2010s | #426 | #444 |
| 2020s | #674 | #639 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Macy
from a French place-name, the estate of Maccius
Macy is usually traced to Massy or Macey, French place-names from the Latin personal name Maccius. Other origins for the surname have been suggested.
Maccius → Massy → Macy
How it traveled
Rowland Hussey Macy went to sea on a Nantucket whaler as a young man, and the company says the red star of its logo came from a tattoo he got then. After several failed stores he opened one in New York that grew into the largest in the world.
Mckinley
son of Fionnlagh, a Gaelic name meaning "fair hero"
The first element is Gaelic fionn, "fair, white." The second, laogh, is read as "hero" or "warrior" in the personal name, though its plain-word sense is "calf" — a shift that happened long before the surname formed.
Fionnlagh → Mac Fhionnlaigh → McKinlay → McKinley → Mckinley
How it traveled
The root is Fionnlagh, an old Gaelic given name that also gave English Finlay and Findlay. In the Highlands it became a family name, Mac Fhionnlaigh — son of Fionnlagh — anglicized in dozens of ways, McKinlay and McKinley among them.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Macy
MAY-see
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
- Mace — A short form, though it is also a weapon and a spice.
Mckinley
muh-KIN-lee
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. A flatter MACK-in-lee is sometimes heard, especially from readers treating the Mc- as a separate block.
- Kinley — The most-used short form, and also given on its own as a full name in the US.
- Mac — Informal; drawn from the Gaelic prefix, and used for both boys and girls.
- Mack — Same short form with the older surname spelling; informal.
- Kin — Very informal, mostly family use.
- Also Mickey.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Macy if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesMacy is 2 syllables to Mckinley's 3
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Macy (Mace)
Choose Mckinley if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMckinley is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMckinley runs 3 syllables, Macy 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Kinley, Mac and Mack
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Macy
Strengths
- It is bright, friendly and easy to spell.
- It is familiar without being among the most common names.
To consider
- Nearly everyone will think of the department store and its parade.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name everywhere.
Mckinley
Strengths
- Traces an unbroken line from a Gaelic personal name through a Highland surname to a modern American given name.
- Has ready-made short forms — Kinley, Mac — one of which stands alone as a name in its own right.
- Familiar as a surname to nearly everyone, so the sound needs no explanation even when the given name is new to someone.
To consider
- The capitalization is a lifelong small nuisance: Mckinley, McKinley and MacKinley all circulate, and autocorrect has opinions. Deciding on one form early, and writing it that way consistently, saves a lot of correcting later.
- It reads as a girl's name in current American use, but the same spelling is still given to boys, and it remains a common surname — expect the occasional assumption to be corrected.
- The strongest association for many adults is President William McKinley and the Alaskan peak that carried his name for a century. That link is neutral for most people, but it is there.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Macy and Mckinley in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Macy and Mckinley?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Macy or Mckinley — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Macy or Mckinley?
- Mckinley, in 2025: Mckinley ranked #712 with 393 babies; Macy ranked #718 with 390 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Macy or Mckinley?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Macy moved down 97 places; Mckinley moved down 158 places.
- Which is the older name, Macy or Mckinley?
- Macy entered the US charts in 1885; Mckinley entered the US charts in 1978. On the American record, Macy is the older name.
- How many people are named Macy and Mckinley?
- About 31,500 people named Macy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,000 people named Mckinley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Macys or Mckinleys in the classroom?
- Macy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mckinley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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