Head to head · Girls' names
Madelyn vs Zoey
#70 vs #69 in 2025
Zoey is a whisker ahead (#69 vs #70 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Zoey is stepping back from its peak, Madelyn is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Madelyn has the edge.
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
On the charts, Zoey leads 4 measures of 6; Madelyn leads 1.
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
- 1890s: Madelyn #871, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1900s: Madelyn #551, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1910s: Madelyn #412, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1920s: Madelyn #400, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1930s: Madelyn #518, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1940s: Madelyn #503, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1950s: Madelyn #672, Zoey — — Madelyn higher
- 1960s: Madelyn #1006, Zoey #6042 — Madelyn higher
- 1970s: Madelyn #1289, Zoey #6487 — Madelyn higher
- 1980s: Madelyn #1346, Zoey #5810 — Madelyn higher
- 1990s: Madelyn #419, Zoey #1168 — Madelyn higher
- 2000s: Madelyn #104, Zoey #203 — Madelyn higher
- 2010s: Madelyn #68, Zoey #28 — Zoey higher
- 2020s: Madelyn #65, Zoey #49 — Zoey higher
Madelyn stood higher in 12 of 14 decades; Zoey has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Madelyn | Zoey |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | #871 | — |
| 1900s | #551 | — |
| 1910s | #412 | — |
| 1920s | #400 | — |
| 1930s | #518 | — |
| 1940s | #503 | — |
| 1950s | #672 | — |
| 1960s | #1006 | #6042 |
| 1970s | #1289 | #6487 |
| 1980s | #1346 | #5810 |
| 1990s | #419 | #1168 |
| 2000s | #104 | #203 |
| 2010s | #68 | #28 |
| 2020s | #65 | #49 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Madelyn
Not charting outside the US.
Zoey
- Canada#64
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Madelyn
Of Magdala — a town on the Sea of Galilee
Magdala is generally traced to a Semitic root for "tower", so the underlying sense is roughly "the tower place", but the name itself functions as a place reference rather than a word for tower.
Magdalene → Magdalena → Madeleine → Madeline → Madelyn
How it traveled
The line begins with Greek Magdalene in the New Testament, an epithet marking Mary as coming from Magdala. Latin turned it into Magdalena, and medieval French smoothed that into Madeleine, which English speakers borrowed and respelled as Madeline.
Zoey
Life
From the Greek noun ζωή (zōē), "life." In Genesis 3:20 the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible used Ζωή to render Eve's name, which carries the sense of "living" in Hebrew — the two names are, in that sense, the same idea in two languages.
ζωή (zōē) → Ζωή / Zoe → Zoë → Zoey
How it traveled
The name begins as an ordinary Greek word and becomes a name among Greek-speaking communities of the eastern Mediterranean, including Hellenistic Jews who used it in place of Eve. It stayed in steady use in the Greek-speaking Christian world for centuries, borne by early martyrs and later by a Byzantine empress of the eleventh century, while western Europe largely left it alone until the nineteenth century brought a broad taste for Greek names.
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
Madelyn
MAD-uh-lin
Three syllables, stress on the first. The -lyn spelling exists precisely to head off the French-influenced MAD-uh-line or MAD-uh-leen you get with Madeleine, though someone who knows the French form may still reach for it once.
- Maddie — The everyday short form, used across the whole Madeline/Madelyn family and given as a standalone name in its own right.
- Maddy — Same short form, the alternative spelling; families usually pick one and stick with it.
- Mads — Informal, mostly among friends and siblings rather than adults.
- Lyn — Drawn from the ending instead of the beginning; less common, and also a given name on its own.
- Also Magda.
Zoey
ZOH-ee
Stress on the first syllable, both syllables sounded. The spelling with -ey removes the ambiguity that makes some people read Zoe as a single syllable rhyming with "toe."
- Zo — The everyday clip, used at home and among friends; almost never written on anything official.
- Zozo — A reduplicated pet form typical of early childhood and family use.
- Zoey-girl — An affectionate family address rather than a true short form.
Who has carried each name
Madelyn
Madelyn Cline (b. 1997) — Outer Banks star
Zoey
Zoey Deutch (b. 1994) — Set It Up and The Politician star
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 Madelyn if you want…
- a name with more sound in itMadelyn runs 3 syllables, Zoey 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Maddie, Maddy and Mads
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 81% for Zoey
Choose Zoey if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsZoey is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesZoey is 2 syllables to Madelyn's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooZoey is on the national lists of Canada
- a name that feels very nowZoey is stepping back from its peak
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
Madelyn
Strengths
- Maddie is a ready-made short form with a long track record, so the name works in both formal and casual registers without any effort.
- The spelling tells the reader the pronunciation, which the French Madeleine does not.
- A documented ancestry running from Greek through Latin and French into English — one continuous line rather than a guess.
To consider
- Madeline, Madelyn, Madilyn, Madalyn and Madeleine all coexist, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often and to see it written the other way on forms.
- Maddie is shared with Madison, Madeline and Madelyn alike, so the nickname is far more crowded than the full name is.
- The -lyn ending places it with a broad family of recent respellings; if you want the older, more European look on paper, Madeleine or Magdalena is the same name.
Zoey
Strengths
- Fully phonetic in English — the -ey ending tells readers exactly where the second syllable goes, with no accent mark to lose in forms and databases.
- The meaning is short, transparent and needs no explanation: "life," straight from Greek.
- Travels well as Zoe, Zoé or Zoi across Greek, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, so relatives abroad will recognize it.
To consider
- Zoe, Zoey, Zoie and Zoë all coexist, so expect "is that with a Y?" for life. Choosing the spelling is choosing a small lifelong correction.
- The -ey spelling belongs almost entirely to the last few decades, so it reads as distinctly contemporary rather than heirloom — the plainer Zoe carries the older feel.
- It has come down a little from its highest point, which usually means fewer in a given classroom but a name that still sounds current to most ears.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Madelyn
40%chance Madelyn feels dated by 2040
Madelyn sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Zoey
81%chance Zoey feels dated by 2040
Zoey is coming down from a big peak (#20 in 2012). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Madelyn and Zoey 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 Madelyn and Zoey?
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 Madelyn and Zoey — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Madelyn or Zoey — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Madelyn or Zoey?
- Zoey, in 2025: Zoey ranked #69 with 3,427 babies; Madelyn ranked #70 with 3,362 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Madelyn or Zoey?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Madelyn moved down 4 places; Zoey moved down 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Madelyn or Zoey?
- Madelyn entered the US charts in 1890; Zoey entered the US charts in 1967. On the American record, Madelyn is the older name.
- How many people are named Madelyn and Zoey?
- About 107,000 people named Madelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 115,000 people named Zoey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Madelyns or Zoeys in the classroom?
- Madelyn will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zoey 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
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