Madelyn
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Meaning
"woman of Magdala," from Magdalene, the fishing village on the Sea of Galilee; Madelyn is the streamlined American spelling of Madeline, part of the same vintage current that lifted Evelyn. Maddie leads its short forms
The story
Madelyn traces back to Magdala, the fishing village on the Sea of Galilee that gave the world Mary Magdalene, the woman of Magdala. From Magdalene came the French Madeleine, the English Madeline, and eventually this streamlined American spelling, tidy on the page and unambiguous to pronounce. Madelyn kept a quiet, steady presence in US records through most of the twentieth century, never gone but never fashionable, then caught the same vintage current that lifted Evelyn and its sisters: a climb beginning in the 1990s, accelerating through the 2000s, and cresting in the 2010s and 2020s at its highest levels yet. Maddie leads its short forms, friendly where the full name is polished. It is an old story in a new spelling, which is, quietly, exactly what many modern parents are hoping to find.
Madelyn 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
More branches
How popular is Madelyn around the world?
In the United States, 21,092 babies were named Madelyn between 2020 and 2025.
Madelyn is on the official records of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico City, South Australia, Argentina, England and Wales, Ireland, Chile, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 1,000
In the United States, 21,092 babies were named Madelyn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Madelyn peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 1,600
In Canada, 231 girls named Madelyn were born in 2024, the 110th most common name among girls that year.
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)
New Zealand
1 in 3,600
In New Zealand, 16 girls named Madelyn were registered in 2025.
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
Mexico City City
1 in 3,900
In Mexico City, there were 30 registrations of Madelyn in 2022.
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 (2 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Madelyn in 2017.
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
Argentina
1 in 11,000
In Argentina, 62 newborns were given the name Madelyn in 2024.
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
England and Wales
1 in 12,000
In England and Wales, 47 girls named Madelyn were born in 2025, the 778th most common name among girls that year.
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
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 girls named Madelyn were born in 2025, the 718th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 girls were registered as Madelyn in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
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
Spain
1 in 310,000
In Spain, 144 residents are named Madelyn, ranked 5,778th among women, with a mean age of 32.9 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
Austria
last on record 2022
Madelyn is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 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)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 31 people in Brazil were named Madelyn, ranked 92,291st, with a median age of 8.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 2008
Madelyn 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 1 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
Scotland
last on record 2022
Madelyn is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
How the spellings raced
Across these spellings, Madelyn led in the group’s busiest decade, the 2010s. So far in the 2020s, Madelyn leads.
Decade totals from US Social Security birth registrations. Every line uses the same scale. The 2020s covers 2020–2025.
When you meet Madelyn
Most people given the name Madelyn in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Madelyn · Names that go with Madelyn · Middle names for Madelyn
The Madelyn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Madelyn 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 Madelyn fits with your family’s names and surname.
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