Madeline Origin and Meaning
The name Madeline is a girl's name of English origin meaning "high tower or woman from Magdala".
Madeline, a lovely name with a soft and delicate image, is an old-fashioned favorite that returned to favor in the 1990's, combining a classic pedigree with a cute nickname option: Maddy.
Madeline has been found frequently in literature, from the poems of Keats and Tennyson to Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby to the charming and much loved children's books of Ludwig Bemelmans starring the sprightly French schoolgirl.
The name has numerous spelling variants, including the French Madeleine and the new options, like Madelyn and Madalyn.
Never off the Social Security list, Madeline entered the Top 100 in 1994, peaking at Number 50 in 1998. It remains one of the most popular girls' names starting with M and is the favorite spelling option among Nameberry users.
While Madelyn is now the preferred choice in the US - perhaps to avoid confusion over that end sound - Madeline doesn't rank far behind and is still given to more than 2500 babies every year. When you combine all the spelling variants together, however, Madeline and co begin to feel a lot like a Top 10 option.
Not necessarily a bad thing - it is a versatile and sophisticated option after all - but if you were looking for something a little more unexpected, Gwendoline, Marigold, Amandine, Maude or Marcelline might appeal to you.
