Head to head · Girls' names
Madelynn vs Marlee
#524 vs #536 in 2025
Madelynn is a whisker ahead (#524 vs #536 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Madelynn is holding its place on the charts, Marlee is stepping back from its peak.
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, Madelynn leads 3 measures of 6; Marlee leads 2.
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
- 1910s: Madelynn —, Marlee #4274 — Marlee higher
- 1920s: Madelynn #3906, Marlee — — Madelynn higher
- 1930s: Madelynn —, Marlee #2961 — Marlee higher
- 1940s: Madelynn #2882, Marlee #2403 — Marlee higher
- 1950s: Madelynn #3786, Marlee #2527 — Marlee higher
- 1960s: Madelynn #5844, Marlee #3211 — Marlee higher
- 1970s: Madelynn #8854, Marlee #3840 — Marlee higher
- 1980s: Madelynn #6789, Marlee #3491 — Marlee higher
- 1990s: Madelynn #1776, Marlee #961 — Marlee higher
- 2000s: Madelynn #502, Marlee #762 — Madelynn higher
- 2010s: Madelynn #433, Marlee #483 — Madelynn higher
- 2020s: Madelynn #496, Marlee #481 — Marlee higher
Marlee stood higher in 9 of 12 decades; Marlee took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Madelynn | Marlee |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #4274 |
| 1920s | #3906 | — |
| 1930s | — | #2961 |
| 1940s | #2882 | #2403 |
| 1950s | #3786 | #2527 |
| 1960s | #5844 | #3211 |
| 1970s | #8854 | #3840 |
| 1980s | #6789 | #3491 |
| 1990s | #1776 | #961 |
| 2000s | #502 | #762 |
| 2010s | #433 | #483 |
| 2020s | #496 | #481 |
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
Madelynn
of Magdala (a town on the Sea of Galilee)
Magdala's own name comes from a Semitic root meaning tower, so the sense behind the whole line is roughly "woman of the tower town." The -lynn ending is a modern English spelling element rather than part of the original meaning.
Magdalene → Magdalena → Madeleine → Madeline → Madelynn
How it traveled
The name begins as a place: Mary Magdalene, named in the Gospels for Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, carried her town's name into every language Christianity reached. Medieval Europe reshaped it constantly — Magdalena in Spain and Germany, Maddalena in Italy, Madeleine in France, which English speakers clipped to Madeline.
Marlee
clearing or meadow — with the first syllable read either as 'boundary' or 'marten'
As a respelling of the English surname Marley, the second element is Old English lēah, 'clearing, meadow, wood', which is settled. The first is not: place-name scholars read it as either gemǣre, 'boundary', or mearth, 'marten'. A separate route reaches the same sound through Marlene, itself a German blend of Maria and Magdalene, which gave English Marla and Marlee as well.
lēah (Old English: clearing, meadow) → Marley (English place name, then surname) → Marlee
How it traveled
The Marley line begins in English geography — villages and estates named for a clearing, recorded in Old English as lēah, with a first element that meant either a boundary or the marten that lived in the wood. Those place names became surnames, surnames crossed to America, and by the twentieth century American parents were turning them into first names for daughters, respelled to match the way they were already saying them: Marley became Marlee.
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
Madelynn
MAD-uh-lin
Three syllables, stress on the first. Some families say MAD-uh-line, rhyming the ending with "line," which the -lynn spelling slightly discourages but does not rule out.
- Maddie — The everyday short form, and the one most Madelynns answer to; also used by Madison, Madeline and Matilda.
- Maddy — The same nickname with the commoner American spelling; both appear on paperwork and in signatures.
- Lynn — Drawn from the second half rather than the first, and a standalone given name in its own right, mostly among older generations.
- Madge — An older short form of the Madeline line, rare now and read as vintage rather than current.
Marlee
MAR-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The spelling gives the pronunciation away completely, which is most of the point of the -lee ending.
- Mar — The most direct shortening, used within families rather than in writing.
- Marls — Informal, friend-to-friend; the same -s pattern that gives Charls and Bexs.
- Lee — Takes the second half instead of the first, and stands alone as a given name for both men and women.
- Marlee-Bee — A playful home nickname built on the final syllable; not used outside the family.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Madelynn if you want…
- a name most people already know#524 in 2025, 573 babies that year
- a name with more sound in itMadelynn runs 3 syllables, Marlee 2
Choose Marlee if you want…
- a name fewer children share#536 in 2025 — marlee will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsMarlee is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMarlee is 2 syllables to Madelynn's 3
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
Madelynn
Strengths
- Maddie is an established short form with generations of use behind it, so the everyday name is ready-made and needs no explaining.
- The name inside the spelling is ancient and internationally known, with Magdalena, Madeleine and Maddalena all recognizable relatives abroad.
- Familiar to any American ear on first hearing — no one has to be taught how to say it.
To consider
- The spelling competes with Madeline, Madelyn, Madeleine, Madilyn and Madalyn. She will spell it out often, and mail will arrive in at least three versions of it.
- Madelynn herself is uncommon, but Maddie is not — she may share the nickname with a Madison or a Madeline in the same class even if no one shares the full name.
- The -lynn ending reads as a modern American respelling. If you want the older, more classical look, Madeleine or Magdalena sits closer to the source while giving the same nickname.
Marlee
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds: a reader who has never seen it will still say it correctly on the first try.
- Sits inside a large, familiar sound family — Marley, Harley, Hailey, Marlene — so it registers as a known name rather than a new one.
- On US records continuously for over a century, so it has history behind it as well as recent use.
To consider
- Marlee, Marley and Marleigh all sound identical, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often — and expect forms and class lists to guess wrong now and then.
- The Marley sound carries strong outside associations for many American ears, from the musician's surname to the dog in a well-known book and film. Nothing damaging, but the connection tends to come up.
- The -lee ending rose as a group and is easing back as a group, which can date a name to a stretch of years. That is only a drawback if you mind it; plenty of names carry a decade with them and wear it well.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Madelynn and Marlee 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
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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 these names appear on
Where Madelynn and Marlee each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Madelynn or Marlee — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Madelynn or Marlee?
- Madelynn, in 2025: Madelynn ranked #524 with 573 babies; Marlee ranked #536 with 564 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Madelynn or Marlee?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Madelynn moved down 43 places; Marlee moved down 106 places.
- Which is the older name, Madelynn or Marlee?
- Madelynn entered the US charts in 1920; Marlee entered the US charts in 1915. On the American record, Marlee is the older name.
- How many people are named Madelynn and Marlee?
- About 18,500 people named Madelynn are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Marlee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Madelynns or Marlees in the classroom?
- Madelynn will almost certainly be the only one in school. Marlee 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
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