Madeline
Feminine · “from Magdala”
Madeline is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 207,385 girls against 245 boys since 1880.
Madeline is the English shape of French Madeleine, which traces back through Latin and Greek to a small town on the Sea of Galilee. It has been written in English since the Middle Ages, and in the late 1930s Ludwig Bemelmans gave it to the smallest of twelve little girls in two straight lines — a book still read aloud today. Four syllables in the mouth, and it has never quite left circulation.
How old is the name Madeline?
Madeline was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Madeline alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 160,000 people named Madeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Madeline most popular?
Madeline peaked in 1998, reaching #50 nationally. Today it ranks #81, 31 places below that high. See the whole 1998 chart.
Where it comes from
From Magdala to Madeline
The story of Madeline
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. Medieval French wore it down to Madeleine, and English speakers, hearing that, wrote it Madeline and Maudlin alike — the second survives only as an ordinary adjective now. The Madeline spelling settled into steady English-language use, and it has been on American records continuously since the earliest years of national name-keeping.
Meaning
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'.
Cultural footprint
Madeline Kahn (b. 1942) — Comic genius of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein
Madeline Miller (b. 1978) — Wrote Circe and The Song of Achilles
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Magdala
- Magdalēnē
- Magdalena
- Madeleine
- Madeline
Related forms: Madeleine · Magdalena · Maddalena · Magdalena · Magdalena · Magdolna
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Madeline
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19985,869 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #50reached in 1998
- Change vs 2022
- +14.3%3,086 in 2025, from 2,700
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.
Madeline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Madeleine in French — same name
- Magdalena in Spanish — related form
- Maddalena in Italian — related form
- Magdalena in German — related form
- Magdalena in Polish — related form
- Magdolna in Hungarian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Madelines among us
people named Madeline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 521 born in 2025 was named Madeline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sylvia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Madeline's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sylvia climbed just as high around 1937, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sylvia's path sketches the road Madeline is walking now.
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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Madeline is headed
Madeline should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Madeline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Madeline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Recognizable across French, Spanish, Italian, German and Polish in closely related forms — useful in a family with more than one language.
- 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.
- The picture books mean many adults meet the name already attached to a small girl in a yellow hat — an affectionate association, but a fixed one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Madeline to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Madeline? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Madeline
Feminine · #81 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Madelines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 160,000 people named Madeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Madeline in 2025?
- Madeline ranks #81 among US girl names in 2025, with 3,086 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Madeline?
- About 1 in every 521 US girls born in 2025 was named Madeline — 3,086 in all.
- Will my child share the name Madeline with classmates?
- Madeline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Madeline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lyla#80 · Josie#82 · Melody#79 · Lucia#83 · Liliana#78 · Addison#84 · Kennedy#85 · Ayla#77
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Madeline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Madeline and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Or jump into a head-to-head
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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