BabyNameScore

Name profile

Madeline

feminine

91First-name usabilityHighly workable
Evidence coverageHigh

This reflects the first name on its own. The full-name report scores the complete combination separately.

Check it with a full name ↓

Aramaic place-name, via Greek and Latin, then French — 'of Magdala'

Why it works

  • English speakers will almost certainly pronounce it correctly on the first try

What to know

pronunciation varies somewhat by language — see "How it travels" for the specifics

Popularity

Familiar — #81 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Meaning and origin

Madeline means 'Of Magdala' — ultimately from Aramaic migdal, 'tower,' via the place-name Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, traditionally Mary Magdalene's hometown.

Carries genuine religious weight through Mary Magdalene while also functioning as a purely secular literary name via the Bemelmans children's book character; used across Catholic and Protestant naming traditions alike.

Documented origin: Aramaic place-name, via Greek and Latin, then French — 'of Magdala'

VerifiedDirectly documented by an independent source, with no competing account on file.

How it travels

English and Turkish are shown by default; German is included when it adds a meaningfully different reading.

EnglishMAD-uh-lin /ˈmædəlɪn/researched pronunciation
TurkishEnglish reading conventions often soften or drop a trailing "-e"; Turkish is pronounced letter-by-letter, so Turkish speakers are likely to voice that final syllable clearly where English speakers may not.deterministic phonetic analysis
GermanEnglish reading conventions often soften or drop a trailing "-e"; German is pronounced letter-by-letter, so German speakers are likely to voice that final syllable clearly where English speakers may not.deterministic phonetic analysis

Spelling stability: high — based on letter-pattern analysis, not a documented linguistic fact.

Also documented

MAD-uh-lin (most common English)

MAD-uh-line (alternative English)

mah-DLEHN (French Madeleine)

Popularity without panic

Familiar — #81 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Familiar enough to feel established, distinctive enough to stand out.

Full-name check

This rhythm preview stays in your browser only — it's never sent anywhere unless you choose to generate a report below.

No account required. Your report gets a private, unlisted link — it's never added to Madeline's public name page, and surnames are never shown publicly.

Real-world considerations

  • Familiar — #81 in the latest U.S. ranking.
  • Spelling note: Frequent confusion with the closely related spelling Madelyn/Madalyn, and with the French spelling Madeleine..
  • The Aramaic-to-French derivation chain (Magdala to Magdalene to Madeleine to Madeline) is well and consistently documented. What is genuinely uncertain, and not resolved by any source found, is why Bemelmans's 1939 book character was named Madeline rather than a more common English spelling of the era — biographical accounts point to Bemelmans's second wife's name (Madeleine Freund) as a personal inspiration, which is a separate, non-etymological naming influence layered on top of the older religious name.
Explore alternatives
Madelyn

Documented as a related name or variant form.

Magdalena

Documented as a related name or variant form.

Madalyn

Documented as a related name or variant form.