Madaline
Feminine · “from Magdala”
Madaline descends from a town on the Sea of Galilee. Mary Magdalene was called that because she came from Magdala, and Magdala means the tower — so a name now associated with softness begins with a fortification. Madaline is one of the American spellings of the French Madeleine, and its peak is 1906.
How old is the name Madaline?
Madaline first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Madaline alive today was born around 1947, making them about 78 years old. About 2,700 people named Madaline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Madaline most popular?
Madaline peaked in 1906, reaching #611 nationally. Today it ranks #5917, 5,306 places below that high. See the whole 1906 chart.
Where it comes from
From migdal to Madaline
The story of Madaline
Mary Magdalene is one of the most prominent women in the Gospels and the first witness of the resurrection, and her name spread through every European language. French Madeleine produced a great deal: the church of La Madeleine in Paris, the small shell-shaped cake, and the English word maudlin, which comes from the medieval English pronunciation of Magdalene and from the tearful way she was depicted in art. English-speaking America used Madeline, Madaline, Madelyn and Madalyn interchangeably in the nineteenth century, and this spelling peaks in 1906.
Meaning
from Magdala — 'the tower'
Hebrew and Aramaic migdal means a tower, and Magdala was a fishing town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mary of Magdala is Maria Magdalene in Greek, and the epithet became a name. French wore Magdalene down to Madeleine, dropping the g entirely; English took Madeline and Madaline from that. Every step is documented, and the tower is genuinely in the etymology.
How the name formed
- migdal
- Magdala
- Madeleine
- Madaline
Related forms: Madeleine · Madeline · Magdalena · Magdalena · Maddalena
Pronouncing Madaline
MAD-uh-line
Three syllables, stress on the first, with the ending rhyming with line. A second saying ends in -leen, following the French. Both are in wide American use and the spelling does not decide between them.
Nicknames for Madaline
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1885
- Most girls named
- 1917112 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #611reached in 1906
- Change vs 2022
- −13.0%20 in 2025, from 23
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Madaline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Madeleine in French — related form
- Madeline in English — spelling variant
- Magdalena in German — related form
- Magdalena in Spanish — related form
- Maddalena in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Madalines among us
people named Madaline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 80,363 born in 2025 was named Madaline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Madaline
- #5917
- Madaline on the 2025 chart
- #920
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Madaline went to 20 girls in 2025, but Madalynne and Madalyne are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 40, which makes it the 920th most-given girls’ name of the year — 4,997 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 40,182 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 80,363 for Madaline itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Madaline 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Madaline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Madaline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and its route through a real town is easy to tell.
- Maddy and Lena are both established short forms with different registers.
- It has one of the most prominent women of the Gospels behind it.
- Madeline, Madaline, Madelyn and Madalyn all circulate as one name.
- The ending is said -line by some and -leen by others.
- It will be corrected to Madeline by most people writing it down.
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Madaline
Feminine · #5917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Madalines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Madaline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Madaline?
- Madaline is the most-used spelling in US records — 20 of the 40 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Madalynne and Madalyne.
- How popular is the name Madaline in 2025?
- Madaline ranks #5917 among US girl names in 2025, with 20 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Madaline?
- About 1 in every 80,363 US girls born in 2025 was named Madaline — 20 in all.
- Will my child share the name Madaline with classmates?
- Madaline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Madaline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elda#5917 · Saloma#5917 · Fawn#5917 · Sarafina#5917 · Jaymie#5917 · Jania#5917 · Kimberlynn#5917 · Patsy#5917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Madaline? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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