Magdalen
Feminine · “Hebrew "of Magdala”
Magdalen means a woman of Magdala, and Magdala means tower. It is a place name turned into an epithet turned into a given name — Mary of Magdala, distinguished from the several other Marys around her by where she came from, in exactly the way surnames were later formed.
How old is the name Magdalen?
Magdalen was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Magdalen alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 1,300 people named Magdalen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Magdalen most popular?
Magdalen peaked in 1887, reaching #499 nationally. Today it ranks #7133, 6,634 places below that high. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From migdal to Magdalen
The story of Magdalen
The name entered European use everywhere Christianity went and produced a large family — Madeleine in France, Magdalena in Spain and Germany, Maddalena in Italy, Magda in Poland, Malin in Sweden. English took Magdalen and Magdalene, gave them to two Oxford and Cambridge colleges, and pronounced the college name MAWD-lin, which is where the English word maudlin comes from. The American 1887 peak reflects German and Central European immigration; the French Madeline overtook it entirely in the twentieth century.
Meaning
Hebrew "of Magdala", from a word meaning tower
Magdala was a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, from Hebrew or Aramaic migdal, a tower. Mary Magdalene is named for it in all four gospels. The etymology is settled. The later identification of her with a repentant sinner is a conflation made in Western tradition and has no basis in the texts, which is worth saying because it shaped how the name was heard for centuries.
How the name formed
- migdal
- Magdala
- Magdalene
- Magdalen
Related forms: Madeleine · Magdalena · Magdalena · Malin · Maddalena
Pronouncing Magdalen
MAG-duh-lin
Three syllables with the stress on the first. The Oxford and Cambridge colleges are said MAWD-lin, which is a genuine historical English pronunciation of the same word and the source of the adjective maudlin.
Nicknames for Magdalen
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
- 191687 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #499reached in 1887
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%15 in 2025, from 15
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.
Magdalen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Madeleine in French — same name
- Magdalena in German — same name
- Magdalena in Polish — same name
- Malin in Swedish — same name
- Maddalena in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Michigan.
Magdalens among us
people named Magdalen are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 107,151 born in 2025 was named Magdalen
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Magdalen 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
Magdalen beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Magdalen in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The etymology is settled and the connection to a major biblical figure is direct.
- It offers short forms in four different European traditions.
- It is a genuine historical spelling rather than a modern one.
- Madeline and Magdalena are both far more common in America.
- The traditional conflation with a repentant sinner still colors how some people hear it.
- The 1880s peak makes it a revival.
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Magdalen
Feminine · #7133 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Magdalens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Magdalen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Magdalen in 2025?
- Magdalen ranks #7133 among US girl names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Magdalen?
- About 1 in every 107,151 US girls born in 2025 was named Magdalen — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Magdalen with classmates?
- Magdalen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Magdalen
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Pennie#7133 · Zina#7133 · Elzie#7133 · Rosabel#7133 · Adelene#7133 · Cruz#7133 · Kansas#7133 · Ione#7133
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Magdalen? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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