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Madeline

girl name
Origin
Hebrew
Syllables
3
Peak era
2000s/2010s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Madeline and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

English form of Madeleine, from Magdalene, "of Magdala"

Goes by Maddie, Mads. See all nicknames

The story

Madeline reaches English through French Madeleine, from Magdalene, the title meaning "of Magdala" associated with Mary Magdalene in the New Testament. Magdala is the village by the Sea of Galilee; the name's history begins with that link to a place. A later literary journey takes it to Paris. In Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline, the heroine is the smallest of twelve schoolgirls, but her courage is hard to miss. The girls wear matching clothes and wide yellow hats, walking in two rows. When Madeline has her appendix removed, the others visit her in hospital. The precise little world of hats, schoolmates and that hospital visit gives an old name a wonderfully visible setting. Its route runs through a biblical place and French naming into a picture book, where the smallest girl makes a large impression.

More names with stories →

Madeline across languages

One shared root links 9 names across 3 languages.

Shared root: from Magdala, the village on the Sea of Galilee (Aramaic magdala "tower"), via Mary Magdalene

The constellation

MadelineEnglishMagdaleneGreekMadeleineFrench

More branches

MadelynEnglish · variantMadelynnEnglish · variantMadalynEnglish · variantMadelyneEnglish · variantMadilynEnglish · variantMadelinEnglish · variant

How popular is Madeline around the world?

In the United States, 16,988 babies were named Madeline between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 15 girls were registered as Madeline in 2017.

Madeline is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico City, England and Wales, Scotland, Argentina, Chile, Ireland, France, Austria, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 1,300

In the United States, 16,988 babies were named Madeline between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2000s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Madeline peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 1,200 · 2017

In South Australia, 15 girls were registered as Madeline in 2017.

1944peak 19972017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Canada

1 in 1,800

In Canada, 207 girls named Madeline were born in 2024, the 127th most common name among girls that year.

1991peak 20002024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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New Zealand

1 in 2,100

In New Zealand, 28 girls named Madeline were registered in 2025.

1900peak 2003

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Mexico City City

1 in 3,900

In Mexico City, there were 30 registrations of Madeline in 2022.

2000peak 2021

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

England and Wales

1 in 4,100

In England and Wales, 144 girls named Madeline were born in 2025, the 304th most common name among girls that year.

1996peak 20032025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Scotland

1 in 4,600

In Scotland, 10 girls named Madeline were registered in 2024, the 333rd most common name among girls that year.

1974peak 20052024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Argentina

1 in 7,000

In Argentina, 94 newborns were given the name Madeline in 2024.

2012peak 2023

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

Chile

1 in 7,700

In Chile, 23 girls were registered as Madeline in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2008

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Ireland

1 in 9,000

In Ireland, 6 girls named Madeline were born in 2025, the 544th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19652025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

France

1 in 9,200

In France, about 70 girls named Madeline were born in 2025, the 624th most common name among girls that year.

1900peak 19902025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 girls named Madeline were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Spain

1 in 310,000

In Spain, 146 residents are named Madeline, ranked 5,717th among women, with a mean age of 37.7 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 294 people in Brazil were named Madeline, ranked 19,324th, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Madeline living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.

1970speak 1980s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 21 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Madeline is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

New South Wales

outside the top 100

Madeline is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

peak 19972025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Poland

last on record 2016

Madeline is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2005

Madeline is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 53 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19992025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Madeline

Most people given the name Madeline in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Madeline

Elizabeth Anna Eva Sara Elise Hanna

Keep exploring

Names like Madeline · Names that go with Madeline · Nicknames for Madeline · Middle names for Madeline

Name trails: explore connections from Madeline →

The Madeline deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Madeline truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Madeline fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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