Head to head · Girls' names
Madeline vs Maeve
#81 vs #76 in 2025
Maeve is a whisker ahead (#76 vs #81 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maeve is climbing the charts fast, Madeline is back after a long quiet spell.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Madeline and Maeve each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Madeline #314, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1890s: Madeline #182, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1900s: Madeline #146, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1910s: Madeline #129, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1920s: Madeline #154, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1930s: Madeline #209, Maeve — — Madeline higher
- 1940s: Madeline #220, Maeve #3869 — Madeline higher
- 1950s: Madeline #346, Maeve #4478 — Madeline higher
- 1960s: Madeline #446, Maeve #4635 — Madeline higher
- 1970s: Madeline #611, Maeve #5712 — Madeline higher
- 1980s: Madeline #494, Maeve #3129 — Madeline higher
- 1990s: Madeline #103, Maeve #1453 — Madeline higher
- 2000s: Madeline #61, Maeve #678 — Madeline higher
- 2010s: Madeline #92, Maeve #442 — Madeline higher
- 2020s: Madeline #93, Maeve #104 — Madeline higher
Madeline stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Madeline | Maeve |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #314 | — |
| 1890s | #182 | — |
| 1900s | #146 | — |
| 1910s | #129 | — |
| 1920s | #154 | — |
| 1930s | #209 | — |
| 1940s | #220 | #3869 |
| 1950s | #346 | #4478 |
| 1960s | #446 | #4635 |
| 1970s | #611 | #5712 |
| 1980s | #494 | #3129 |
| 1990s | #103 | #1453 |
| 2000s | #61 | #678 |
| 2010s | #92 | #442 |
| 2020s | #93 | #104 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Madeline
Not charting outside the US.
Maeve
- Scotland#23
- England & Wales#26
- Canada#46
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Madeline
from Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee
The name is a byname turned given name: Magdalene meant 'the woman from Magdala'. The place name itself is generally traced to a Hebrew and Aramaic root meaning 'tower'.
Magdala → Magdalēnē → Magdalena → Madeleine → Madeline
How it traveled
The name begins as a description rather than a name. Greek translators of the Christian scriptures rendered the Aramaic byname of Mary of Magdala as Magdalēnē, and Latin carried it on as Magdalena.
Maeve
intoxicating, she who intoxicates
The Old Irish medb comes from the same root as the word for mead, the honey wine; the name is usually rendered "she who intoxicates" or "the intoxicating one."
Medb → Meadhbh → Méabh → Maeve
How it traveled
The name begins in Ireland as Medb, spelled Meadhbh in later Irish and Méabh in the modern simplified orthography. Its most famous bearer is the Medb of the Ulster Cycle, the Connacht queen whose demand for a prize bull sets the Táin Bó Cúailnge in motion — a story preserved in Irish manuscripts from the twelfth century onward.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Madeline
MAD-uh-lin
Also said MAD-uh-line, with the last syllable rhyming with 'line'. Both are established in the United States, so expect to state your preference now and then. The French Madeleine is mad-uh-LEN.
- Maddie — By far the most common short form in American use; also given as a standalone name, and shared with Madison, Madelyn and Matilda.
- Maddy — The same nickname, spelled the other way; families tend to pick one and keep it.
- Mads — Informal and clipped, mostly among friends and siblings rather than adults.
- Lena — Drawn from the Magdalena end of the family; used more in continental Europe than in the US, and a full name in its own right.
- Also Made.
Maeve
MAYV
One syllable, rhyming with cave and wave. The Irish spellings Méabh and Meadhbh are said the same way, which is why the anglicized form works so smoothly for English speakers.
- Mae — The most common short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Maevie — Affectionate and家 family-level; used with young children rather than in writing.
- Mave — Informal, sometimes just the way the full name gets clipped in speech.
Who has carried each name
Madeline
Madeline Kahn (b. 1942) — Comic genius of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein
Madeline Miller (b. 1978) — Wrote Circe and The Song of Achilles
Maeve
Maeve Binchy (b. 1939) — Beloved Irish storyteller (Circle of Friends)
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Madeline if you want…
- a name with more sound in itMadeline runs 3 syllables, Maeve 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Maddie, Maddy and Mads
- a long American recordMadeline was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 59% for Maeve
Choose Maeve if you want…
- a name on the way upup 98 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaeve is 2 syllables to Madeline's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooMaeve is on the national lists of Scotland, England & Wales and Canada
- a newer arrivalMaeve entered the US charts in 1940
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Madeline
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone can read on sight, even where the -lyn and -leine variants compete.
- An unbroken record in American name statistics from the earliest years of the data to the present, with no long gap.
- Maddie is instantly understood as its short form, so a formal name and a casual one come together.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate, MAD-uh-lin and MAD-uh-line. Neither is wrong, which means correcting people is a lifelong small errand.
- Maddie is a busy nickname, shared with Madison, Madelyn and Matilda. Any given classroom may hold several Maddies and only one Madeline.
- Madeleine, Madelyn, Madalyn and Madilyn all sound alike, so the spelling will be asked for and sometimes still guessed wrong.
Maeve
Strengths
- Short and phonetic: an English reader gets it right on sight, without needing the Irish spelling explained.
- One syllable, so it needs no nickname to be usable — though Mae is there if a family wants one.
- A documented record stretching back to medieval Irish manuscripts, which is a longer paper trail than most names on the charts.
To consider
- It is climbing quickly. A child born now is unlikely to share a classroom with another Maeve, but the name will be more familiar by the time she is grown.
- Expect occasional misspellings — Mave, Maive, Meave — and the Irish forms Méabh and Meadhbh may come up if your family has ties to Ireland.
- The queen Medb of the Táin is a fierce, war-starting figure. Some parents love that; it is worth knowing the story before someone else tells you about it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Madeline
30%chance Madeline feels dated by 2040
Madeline is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Maeve
59%chance Maeve feels dated by 2040
Maeve is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Madeline and Maeve in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Madeline and Maeve?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Madeline and Maeve — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Madeline or Maeve — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Madeline or Maeve?
- Maeve, in 2025: Maeve ranked #76 with 3,153 babies; Madeline ranked #81 with 3,086 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Madeline or Maeve?
- Maeve. Over the last five years Madeline moved up 15 places; Maeve moved up 98 places.
- Which is the older name, Madeline or Maeve?
- Madeline was already in use when US records began in 1880; Maeve entered the US charts in 1940. On the American record, Madeline is the older name.
- How many people are named Madeline and Maeve?
- About 160,000 people named Madeline are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Maeve are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Madelines or Maeves in the classroom?
- Madeline will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maeve will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Madeline, Maeve and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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