I know of it because of
Mahalia Jackson, the singer, so it seems like a sassy, old-fashioned name for me. Works nicely as a mn with a short & sweet fn, I agree.
BTW, I know a little girl named Macayla (yes, that spelling) and she went on vacation with some friends of the family. And one of the older women couldn't say Macayla for the life of her, and one of the names she kept insisting on calling her was
Mahalia. LOL. Eventually, they convinced her to call her Mac. :b