Baby Names: Madeline – Babble
Madeline
Baby Names:
Madeline
Meaning: Woman from Magdala
Origin: French
Alternate spellings: Madeleine, Madalynn, Madalynne, Madelyn, Madilyn, Madalyn, Madelynn, Madilynn
Madeline is a spelling variation of Madeleine, which is the French form of Magdalene and comes from a place-name that means “woman from Magdala.” Magdalene is a reference to the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. Madeline has been on the charts since 1880 and has been the most popular spelling in the U.S. overall. It made a huge leap in popularity in the mid-1980s, and like other old-fashioned sounding names, it has continued to gain popularity. Creative spellers have put quite a few versions of the name into the top 1,000, including Madelyn, Madilyn, Madeleine, Madalyn, Madelynn, Madalynn, and Madilynn.
By The Numbers
U.S. Rank by Year
2000: 56
2004: 63
2008: 56
Rank of Similar Names in 2008
Madeleine 271
Madeline 56
Madelyn 63
madeline stowe
Maddie is the cutest.
Classy, but light-hearted. Womanly, but works for a little girl as well.
we named our first daughter Madeleine Jael, I almost didn’t because I truly dislike the nickname “Maddie” (sorry other commenter). We call her MJ or Mads. I love her name and I’m glad we went with it.