Head to head · Girls' names
Madeline vs Melody
#81 vs #79 in 2025
Melody is a whisker ahead (#79 vs #81 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Melody 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 Melody 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, Melody — — Madeline higher
- 1890s: Madeline #182, Melody — — Madeline higher
- 1900s: Madeline #146, Melody — — Madeline higher
- 1910s: Madeline #129, Melody #2876 — Madeline higher
- 1920s: Madeline #154, Melody #4100 — Madeline higher
- 1930s: Madeline #209, Melody #2046 — Madeline higher
- 1940s: Madeline #220, Melody #568 — Madeline higher
- 1950s: Madeline #346, Melody #209 — Melody higher
- 1960s: Madeline #446, Melody #195 — Melody higher
- 1970s: Madeline #611, Melody #218 — Melody higher
- 1980s: Madeline #494, Melody #249 — Melody higher
- 1990s: Madeline #103, Melody #362 — Madeline higher
- 2000s: Madeline #61, Melody #301 — Madeline higher
- 2010s: Madeline #92, Melody #159 — Madeline higher
- 2020s: Madeline #93, Melody #100 — Madeline higher
Madeline stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Madeline has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Madeline | Melody |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #314 | — |
| 1890s | #182 | — |
| 1900s | #146 | — |
| 1910s | #129 | #2876 |
| 1920s | #154 | #4100 |
| 1930s | #209 | #2046 |
| 1940s | #220 | #568 |
| 1950s | #346 | #209 |
| 1960s | #446 | #195 |
| 1970s | #611 | #218 |
| 1980s | #494 | #249 |
| 1990s | #103 | #362 |
| 2000s | #61 | #301 |
| 2010s | #92 | #159 |
| 2020s | #93 | #100 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
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.
Melody
Song, tune — literally 'singing of a poem'
The Greek melōidia joins melos, 'song' or 'tune', with aoidē, 'singing' — the same root behind the word ode.
melōidia (Greek) → melodia (Late Latin) → melodie (Old French) → Melody
How it traveled
The word begins in Greek as melōidia, passes into Late Latin as melodia, and reaches English through Old French melodie in the medieval period, when it named a sung line of poetry. For centuries it stayed a common noun in English, a musical term rather than anything a person was called.
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.
Melody
MEL-uh-dee
Stress on the first syllable, and the middle vowel is a light schwa. The French Mélodie shifts the stress toward the end, may-lo-DEE.
- Mel — The standard short form; also serves Melanie, Melissa and, for men, Melvin, so it rarely points to one name alone.
- Mellie — Informal and affectionate, mostly used within families rather than at school or work.
- Melly — An informal spelling of the same short form; interchangeable with Mellie in practice.
- Lodi — Occasional and family-made, drawn from the middle of the name rather than the front.
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
Melody
Melody Gardot (b. 1985) — Jazz singer who taught herself music while recovering from a near-fatal accident
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 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 51% for Melody
Choose Melody if you want…
- a name on the way upup 27 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMelody entered the US charts in 1914
- a name that feels very nowMelody is climbing the charts fast
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.
Melody
Strengths
- An ordinary English word, so the spelling is guessed correctly on the first try by almost anyone who hears it.
- Long-established short forms in Mel and Mellie, with a full-length name to fall back on.
- A documented line from Greek through Latin and French into English, unbroken as a word for many centuries.
To consider
- It is climbing rather than settling, so a Melody born now may meet more namesakes in her own year group than older bearers of the name ever did.
- Mel is shared with Melanie, Melissa and Melvin — useful, but it does not identify her the way the full name does.
- As a word-name, it invites the obvious music remarks: song puns, lyrics quoted at her. Most word-names carry a version of this, and most wearers outgrow the joke.
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.
Melody
51%chance Melody feels dated by 2040
Melody 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 Melody 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 Melody?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Three-syllable names with room to move
- all guides
Every list here names both Madeline and Melody — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Madeline or Melody — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Madeline or Melody?
- Melody, in 2025: Melody ranked #79 with 3,095 babies; Madeline ranked #81 with 3,086 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Madeline or Melody?
- Melody. Over the last five years Madeline moved up 15 places; Melody moved up 27 places.
- Which is the older name, Madeline or Melody?
- Madeline was already in use when US records began in 1880; Melody entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Madeline is the older name.
- How many people are named Madeline and Melody?
- About 160,000 people named Madeline are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 108,000 people named Melody are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Madelines or Melodys in the classroom?
- Madeline will almost certainly be the only one in school. Melody will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. 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, Melody and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap