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The 95 Kre8tiv Ways to Spell Makayla
You heard that right: Ninety-five different spellings were given to at least 5 girls in 2000.What's your favorite and least favorite?Makayla, 4917
Mikayla, 3159
Michaela, 2172
Mikaela, 759
Mckayla, 658
Micaela, 417
Mikala, 204
Makala, 193
Mykayla, 184
Makaila, 183
Micayla, 153
Macayla, 140
Makaela, 138
Mikaila, 128
Mickayla, 124
Makaylah, 108
Mykala, 106
Mekayla, 91
Michaella, 89
Michayla, 86
Michala, 72
Mackayla, 71
Mykaela, 69
Micheala, 59
Michela, 59
Mikaylah, 58
Makalah, 38
Mikela, 35
Mikhayla, 28
Mykaila, 28
Machaela, 27
Mkayla, 26
Mickaela, 25
Mikalah, 24
Mikhaila, 23
Mychaela, 23
Mikhaela, 18
Mckaylah, 17
Makailah, 16
Mikeala, 16
Micalah, 15
Michella, 15
Miquela, 15
Macala, 14
Makela, 14
Mikaelah, 14
Mckala, 13
Mekala, 13
Michaila, 13
Mykela, 13
Mykalah, 12
Macaila, 11
Mccayla, 11
Micala, 11
Mikella, 11
Mekaela, 10
Mikhala, 10
Macaela, 9
Mickala, 9
Makahla, 8
Makayela, 8
Makhayla, 8
Maykayla, 8
Mckaela, 8
Mckaila, 8
Mekaila, 8
Micaila, 8
Micaylah, 8
Michaelah, 8
Mikaella, 8
Mikeila, 8
Mycala, 8
Maikayla, 7
Makeila, 7
Maquela, 7
Mcayla, 7
Micaella, 7
Michalla, 7
Mikahla, 7
Mikailah, 7
Mychala, 7
Machala, 6
Machayla, 6
Makeyla, 6
Maykala, 6
Mikkayla, 6
Mykailah, 6
Macheala, 5
Makhaila, 5
Mekalah, 5
Mekaylah, 5
Micahla, 5
Mikaylla, 5
Mkaila, 5
Mykalla, 5
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Replies

Makayla is my favorite spellingMykhaila is actually a Ukrainian version of the Russian male name Mikhail but in this country is often looked at as an alternative for Mikayla.
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Well, as someone who grew up with loads of girls with this name (and variant)...I'd have to say that I like Makayla the most. It's the most common and the spelling makes pronouncing straightforward. Mikayla is another common spelling I've seen, so I'll add that. I don't care much for Michaela (the original), because I always want to say, "MY-kul-luh" (Michael, with an A). I can also appreciate Macayla, because I love the name Cayla. I'd definitely be mispronouncing a lot of these spellings...
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I honestly don't like the original, LOL. I don't have trouble pronouncing it — I just think it's uglier than most of the other spellings. I like Mikaela, though. Mikayla is my favorite, but Makayla is good too!
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Yikes! I'm relieved that 2172 lucky girls became Michaela.
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I like Makayla bestMkaila, Machala are the worse
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My favorite is Mikaela. Some of the alternate spellings almost remind me of Mahala / Mahalia.
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Michaela, Micaela, Mikaela. One,two,three
The only way it should be. That is all from me.
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I really like Mikayla :(
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The only ones I like are Michaela and Micaela, because they're the originals. The other versions just look like a made-up modern English name.
I find it sort of strange when the original spelling is less popular than the kreighaiyyttyvvv ones.
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I think a lot of these shouldn't be considered spellings of Makayla. Names like Michella, Makala, Mikella, etc. are perfectly good if they're pronounced how they look. If they're actually supposed to be pronounced Makayla then they're terrible, but I see no reason to assume that these parents picked a nonsensical spelling instead of just using a similar but different name. Many of these are clearly meant to be pronounced with "-kala" or "-kella". Overall my thoughts are:
-don't use Mc-, Mac-, or Mick-
-don't use -ah
-don't pronounce it different from how you spell it
-stick to Mi- and sometimes Ma- at the beginning, no My- or Me-
-chae is fine, kay and kae are fine, cae is alright, but cay and chay are bad
-cai doens't work, khai only works with Mikhaila, kai can work but it usually reads "kai" and not "kay"I know a Mikaela and she goes by mih-kay-la but it's really mi-ka-ELL-a (in a Spanish accent) which sounds SO MUCH NICER. I wish that was more usable in American English!
Makayla - fine, a bit trendy
Mikayla - same; this feels more balanced than Makayla and I'm more likely to see this version as the default
Michaela, Mikaela, and Micaela - these all look nice, but I'd prefer them with a different pronunciation
Mckayla, Mcayla, Mckaylah, Mackayla - don't like any of these Mc-/Mac- versions. It's not an Irish surname, or Kayla from McDonalds.
Mikala, Makala, Micalah, Macala - these would be nice if it were pronounced how they look, but there's NO WAY "kala" is meant to be pronounced "kayla". Are you sure these were intended as spellings of Makayla and not completely a different name? mi-KAH-la would be fine but if these are meant to be ma-KAY-la then they're terrible.

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Wow, that's such a detailed analysis, thank you!! I agree that at least half of these spellings are not intuitive. I debated whether to end -ala endings, but they seem to only have been used when Makayla/Mikayla/Michaela etc. was trendy, so I'm guessing they were intended to be pronounced the same. Parents are weird.
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I don't think a couple of these (Mikella and Mykalla) are likely being pronounced the same way most Americans say Makayla, but who knows?My least favorite would be Michela and Michella, because I think most people would look at them and first think they were pronounced with the "sh" sound in the middle like Michelle. In fact, that may be how the parents are pronouncing them.
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Mikhaila is cool, I like the Russian influence. Apart from that, I don’t think it’s possible to dress Michaela up in a way that makes me feel strongly about it. It’s just… there.
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I like Michaela the best. The top 6 are at least recognisable. Mikhaila looks ok also.
Least favourite is Mycala.
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My instinct is to read Mikhaila as mee-KHIE-lah, like it's a Slavic name.
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Yeah, that's definitely one of the worst. Makes me think of a toddler trying to say "mancala."
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Michaela would have to be my favorite.
Mccayla is a special kind of unpleasant.
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I can only tolerate Michaela and Micaela.
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