Head to head · Girls' names
Makayla vs Mavis
#566 vs #560 in 2025
Mavis is a whisker ahead (#560 vs #566 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mavis is back after a long quiet spell, Makayla is stepping back from its peak.
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, Mavis leads 4 measures of 6; Makayla 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
- 1890s: Makayla —, Mavis #1097 — Mavis higher
- 1900s: Makayla —, Mavis #759 — Mavis higher
- 1910s: Makayla —, Mavis #511 — Mavis higher
- 1920s: Makayla —, Mavis #278 — Mavis higher
- 1930s: Makayla —, Mavis #293 — Mavis higher
- 1940s: Makayla —, Mavis #462 — Mavis higher
- 1950s: Makayla —, Mavis #733 — Mavis higher
- 1960s: Makayla —, Mavis #1206 — Mavis higher
- 1970s: Makayla #6087, Mavis #2505 — Mavis higher
- 1980s: Makayla #2539, Mavis #4634 — Makayla higher
- 1990s: Makayla #318, Mavis #7044 — Makayla higher
- 2000s: Makayla #49, Mavis #8483 — Makayla higher
- 2010s: Makayla #139, Mavis #2093 — Makayla higher
- 2020s: Makayla #438, Mavis #666 — Makayla higher
Mavis stood higher in 9 of 14 decades; Makayla has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Makayla | Mavis |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1097 |
| 1900s | — | #759 |
| 1910s | — | #511 |
| 1920s | — | #278 |
| 1930s | — | #293 |
| 1940s | — | #462 |
| 1950s | — | #733 |
| 1960s | — | #1206 |
| 1970s | #6087 | #2505 |
| 1980s | #2539 | #4634 |
| 1990s | #318 | #7044 |
| 2000s | #49 | #8483 |
| 2010s | #139 | #2093 |
| 2020s | #438 | #666 |
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
Makayla
"Who is like God?" — a rhetorical question, from Hebrew
The meaning belongs to the root name, Hebrew Mikha'el, of which Michaela is the feminine form and Makayla a phonetic English spelling. The question was asked rhetorically: no one is.
Mikha'el → Michael → Michaela → Mikayla → Makayla
How it traveled
Mikha'el appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name of an archangel, and passed through Greek and Latin into nearly every European language as Michael. A feminine counterpart, Michaela, developed on the Latin pattern and became standard in German, Czech and Italian-speaking regions.
Mavis
song thrush
From Middle English mavis, borrowed from Old French mauvis, the name for the thrush — a word English and Scottish poets kept alive long after ordinary speech dropped it.
mauvis (Old French) → mavis (Middle English word for the thrush) → Mavis (English given name)
How it traveled
The word arrived in English from Old French mauvis and settled in as the literary name for the song thrush, appearing in poetry well into the nineteenth century after everyday speech had switched to "thrush". It was already in scattered use as a girl's name when Marie Corelli published The Sorrows of Satan in 1895, giving her heroine the name Mavis Clare; the novel was enormously read and the name spread widely in Britain, then in the United States.
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
Makayla
muh-KAY-luh
Stress falls on the middle syllable. Some families say may-KAY-luh, giving the first syllable a fuller vowel; both are heard and neither needs correcting.
- Kayla — The most common short form, and a fully established given name in its own right, which means it works on a résumé as well as at home.
- Mak — Informal, usually spoken among friends and family; sometimes written Mac.
- Mika — Informal, and also used independently as a given name in several languages.
- Kay — A clipped, older-fashioned short form, more often used by adults than by classmates.
- Also Makky.
Mavis
MAY-viss
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling gives the sound away, so it rarely needs repeating over the phone.
- Mave — The most common short form, informal; occasionally written Maeve, which is a separate Irish name in its own right.
- Mavie — Affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than formally.
- May — Informal shortening from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Makayla if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMakayla is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMakayla runs 3 syllables, Mavis 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Kayla, Mak and Mika
- a name that feels very nowMakayla is stepping back from its peak
Choose Mavis if you want…
- a name on the way upup 280 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMavis is 2 syllables to Makayla's 3
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 78% for Makayla
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
Makayla
Strengths
- Fully transparent to read aloud — the spelling was built to match the sound, so almost no American reader hesitates over it.
- Comes with Kayla, a short form that also stands alone as a given name, giving a formal and an informal option without effort.
- Traces back to Michael, a name documented in continuous use for well over two thousand years.
To consider
- The spelling field is crowded: Mikayla, Michaela, Micaela, Mikaela and McKayla all sound near-identical. Expect to spell it out on the phone for life, and expect forms to come back wrong now and then.
- The name is stepping back from a high point rather than climbing, so among adults it reads as belonging to a particular recent stretch of years — while a child given it now will likely be the only one in her class.
- The -ayla ending sits close to a whole family of names built the same way, which can mean occasional mix-ups with a Kayla, Makenna or Michaela in the same room.
Mavis
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds and short enough to write early — no correction required at the start of every school year.
- An unbroken record on American name lists stretching back to the Victorian era, so it is familiar rather than newly coined.
- A documented word meaning behind it: the song thrush, from Old French through Middle English poetry.
To consider
- Most Mavises alive in the US today are in their eighties and older, so the name still reads as a grandmother's name to many ears. That is precisely what makes it available again, but the association is real for now.
- A child named Mavis will very likely be the only one in her school, which some children enjoy and others do not.
- The meaning is lovely and almost nobody knows it — "mavis" left everyday English long ago, so you will be the one explaining the bird.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Makayla
78%chance Makayla feels dated by 2040
Makayla is coming down from a big peak (#37 in 2008). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Mavis
30%chance Mavis feels dated by 2040
Mavis is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Makayla and Mavis in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Makayla and Mavis?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- One-decade wonders
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Generation Z names (born 1997–2012)
- all guides
Where Makayla and Mavis each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Makayla or Mavis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Makayla or Mavis?
- Mavis, in 2025: Mavis ranked #560 with 537 babies; Makayla ranked #566 with 530 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Makayla or Mavis?
- Mavis. Over the last five years Makayla moved down 241 places; Mavis moved up 280 places.
- Which is the older name, Makayla or Mavis?
- Makayla entered the US charts in 1971; Mavis entered the US charts in 1893. On the American record, Mavis is the older name.
- How many people are named Makayla and Mavis?
- About 107,000 people named Makayla are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,000 people named Mavis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Makaylas or Maviss in the classroom?
- Makayla will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mavis 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
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