Macaulay is a distinctive choice, ranked #1952 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Macaulay in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#1952
About the Name Macaulay
Macaulay is climbing rapidly up the charts, having climbed 452 places in just five years. Its best recorded rank was #143 in 1996 — and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Macaulay is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Macaulay
Unlikely. With around 12 UK babies named Macaulay per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Macaulay in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Macaulay is currently rising in popularity in the UK, up 452 places over the last five years to #1952 in 2024. If this trend continues, it will become more common in classrooms over the next decade.
Macaulay is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Macaulay include: Annie Macaulay — Annie Macaulay is a Nigerian model, presenter, and actress.; Bronte Macaulay — Bronte Macaulay is an Australian professional surfer.; Fred MacAulay — Frederick MacAulay is a Scottish comedian..
Macaulay does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Macaulays in the wild.
12
UK babies named Macaulay (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 452 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Macaulay
Likely around 1 other Macaulay in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Macaulay
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Robertson Macaulay was a Canadian insurance company executive. Born in Fraserburgh, Scotland, the son of Kenneth Macaulay and Margaret Noble, Macaulay emigrated to Canada in 1854 settling in Quebec.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, was a British historian, poet and Whig politician who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 1846 and 1848. He is best known for his The History of England, a seminal example of Whig history which expressed Macaulay's belief in the inevitability of sociopolitical progress and has been widely commended for its prose style.
Alastair Macaulay is an English-born writer, critic, and historian of the performing arts. He was the chief dance critic for The New York Times from 2007 until his retirement in 2018.
Olayinka Herbert Samuel Heelas Badmus Macaulay was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, surveyor, engineer, architect, journalist, and musician. Macaulay is considered by many as founder of Nigerian nationalism.