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Girl · Aramaic or Hebrew, through Latin
Madeleine
Say it: mad-LEN
Meaning
From Mary Magdalene, 'of Magdala', a place name from Aramaic or Hebrew migdal 'tower'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Steadily used from the Middle Ages, with a strong revival in France in recent decades.
Its wave through time
A revival, back after decades away
In the United States
- 42,010 babies given this name since 1881
- At its height in 1998, about 1 in 1,200 girls
- 781 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Magdeleine
| English | Madeline |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Magdalena |
| Italian | Maddalena |
Famous bearers
- Madeleine de Scudéry, novelist
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Parish baptism registers
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.