Madeleine (name)

Madeleine

Mary Magdalene, the saint responsible for the popularity of the name Madeleine, in a painting by Frederick Sandys.
Pronunciation /ˈmædᵻlɪn/ MAD-ə-lin
/ˈmædᵻlɛn/ MAD-ə-len
French: [madəˈlɛn]
Madeline:
/ˈmædᵻlaɪn/ MAD-ə-lyn
Gender ♀
Origin
Meaning "from Magdala", "tower", "elevated, great, magnificent"
Other names
Related names Madeline, Madelyn, Magdalena, Magdalene, მაგდა (Geo:Magda), Maddalena, Maddie, Maddy
Popularity see popular names

Madeleine is a feminine given name. It is a form of Magdalene, well-known because of Saint Mary Magdalene. In the United States, this name often appears under the spelling Madeline.

Meaning

Madeleine and Madeline are forms of Magdalene, which is well known as a name because of Saint Mary Magdalene. Magdalene means "from Magdala". Mary Magdalene's name is thought to be derived from Magdala – a village on the sea of Galilee. In Aramaic, "magdala" means "tower" or "elevated, great, magnificent". Additionally, in German, Mädelein means "little girl".

Madeline variants and popularity

Madeline is a popular girls' name. It is the usual North American English spelling of the French Madeleine, the French spelling being generally preferred in Britain.[1]

It has ranked as one of the 100 most popular girls' names in the United States for the past decade. Madeline was the 61st most popular name for baby girls born in the United States in 2007, while its spelling variant Madelyn was ranked as the 104th most popular name given to baby girls born in 2007 and spelling variant Madeleine was ranked as the 290th most popular name given to girls born in 2007. Variant Magdalena was ranked as the 867th most popular name given to girls born in 2007 in the United States. Madeline was the 85th most popular name given to girls born in British Columbia, Canada in 2005 and the 93rd most popular name for girls born in New South Wales, Australia in 2007.[2] Madeleine was the 80th most popular name given to girls born in England and Wales in 2007.[1]

A common shortened version of the name is Maddy or Maddie.

People named Madeleine

People named Madeline

Fictional characters

References

  1. 1 2 UK Office for National Statistics
  2. ↑ Behind the Name
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