Given name & surname
Macauley
“the son of righteousness”
Macauley is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “the son of righteousness.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “the son of righteousness.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1991. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Macauley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 290
- 260 boys · 30 girls
- Most popular year
- 1992
- 34 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,490 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,490 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 327 as a first name in 2020; 2,080 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Macauley’s family of names
Macauley has a related form in Macaulay. Macauley has a related form in McCauley. Macauley has a related form in MacCaulay.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Macauley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mackay
“the son of fire”
>99% boys
Maclean
“the son of John's servant”
>99% boys
Maccoy
“the son of Hugh”
>99% boys
Macgregor
“the son of Gregor”
>99% boys
Daray
“a dark-skinned man”
>99% boys
Chay
“from the fairy place”
87% boys · 13% girls
Tynan
“one who is dark and dusty”
>99% boys
Aeneas
“to be worthy of praise”
>99% boys