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.
Mykayla, Mykaela, Mykaila - too awkward, it reads as "the
Kayla belonging to me". And
Kaila reads like
Kyla here, not
Kayla.
Makaila, Mikaila - I like the look of these ones
Micayla Macayla - I'm fine with "cae" but I think "cay" looks awkward here.
Makaela - Not the best but not bad, I think it looks fine
Mickayla, Mickaela - Too contrived to include "
Mick" / "
Micky", and it's trying to split in too many places. '
Mick' and '
Kayla' both jump out at me, but it can't be both, so which 'unit' is meant to have the K?
Makaylah, Mikaylah, Mikaelah - I don't like the unnecessary H at the end, the random "-ah instead of -a" seems very 90's trendy for some reason
Mykala - Again, doesn't read anything like
Mikayla. It's like My - kala or maybe Mee-kala.
Mekayla - nope nope nope. "Me,
Kayla"?
Michaella, Mikaella, Micaella - I like this if it's actually pronounced with "ella" at the end. Like
Michael + ella or Mika-ella (which is also how I'd prefer
Michaela). But if chaella is supposed to sound like
Kayla then it's a bad idea.
Michayla - Doesn't make sense; the Mich- part is supposed to go with '
Michael' so
Michaela works but
Michayla is awkward. The ch doesn't read as a k sound.
Michala, Michalla, Machala - I like this if it's pronounced how it looks (mi-KAL-a or even mi-CHA-la or mi-SHA-la a la
Michelle) but not if it's supposed to sound like
Mikayla.
Micheala - just looks like dyslexic
Michaela Michela, Michella- looks fine but only if it's pronounced like
Michelle + a
Makalah, Mikalah - honestly this is fine if it's ma-KAH-la
Mikela, Mikella- fine if it's mi-KELL-a
Mikhayla - too complicated, should be
Mikhaila or
Mikayla but not both
Mkayla - nope nope nope. I was going to group this with Mc- names but I don't even know how you'd write this out. MKayla? M'Kayla? Mkayla pronounced like "mm-kayla"?
Machaela - honestly doesn't look too bad, but what's the point when
Michaela exists?
Mikhaila - this is fine as a feminine form of
MikhailMychaela - This doesn't read as "My ___" like the other My-versions, it reads like a trendy version of
Michael + a.
Mikhaela - Nah, I think "
Mikhaila" should only do the
Mikhail thing, instead of trying to do two things at once.
Makailah - H at the end is silly, and Makaila(h) should be ma-KAI-la
Mikeala - dyslexic
Mikaela Miquela, Maquela - fine, but I wouldn't pronounce it like
Mikayla. It's "keh" as opposed to "kay".
Makela - fine if it's ma-KELL-a
Mykela - Mykel is like a phonetic spelling of
Michael so if that's how it's pronounced, then sure. It's still kind of silly, but sure
Micala - good if it's mi-KAH-la
Macaila - looks fine if it's mi-KAI-la
Makayela - this is ma-ka-YELL-a?
Maykayla -
May Kayla do what?
Micahla - "ahla" doens't work even if it's pronounced mi-KAH-la. Should be Micala or
Michala?
Mikaylla - this doesn't even make any sense because it's clearly meant to be a -kayla variant, but Kaylla isn't a name. I feel like there's some rule I know intuitively but have never heard described that says ay- and -lla can't go together. You can have -ayla or -ella or -alla, but not eylla or aylla or eilla.
Mycala, Mychala - my-kala
Mikkayla - new levels of nope unlocked! And '
Mikki' isn't even a good nickname!
And these names have more than one of the problems I've already mentioned: Mckala, Mykalah, Mccayla, Mykalla, Mkaila, Mekalah, Mekaylah, Mekala, Michaila, Mekaela, Mikhala, Macaela, Mickala, Makahla, Makhayla, Mckaela, Mckaila, Mekaila, Micaylah, Micaila, Machayla, Macheala, Makhaila, Michaelah, Mikeila, Maikayla, Makeila, Mikahla, Mikailah, Makeyla, Maykala, Mykailah