Madalena
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "woman from Magdala".
Name Census estimates that about 694 living Americans carry the first name Madalena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madalena today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madalena births was 2010 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madalena. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Madalena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
694
~ 1 in 493,882 Americans
Peak year
2010
28 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,425
Tracked since 1911
Census
Madalena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 970 people with the first name Madalena, which placed it at #12,724 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,724
National first-name rank
People counted
970
970 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Madalena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Madalena is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Madalena described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Madalena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.0% · 563
- Hispanic or Latino25.3% · 245
- Black or African American8.8% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 41
- Two or more races3.2% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
Popularity
Madalena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madalena from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 194 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Madalena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madalena by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Madalena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Madalenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Madalena, while Texas, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madalena
Madalena is a feminine given name with origins traced back to the Late Latin name Magdalena, which was derived from the Greek name Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnē). The name is closely associated with Mary Magdalene, a prominent figure in the New Testament and one of the earliest followers of Jesus Christ.
The name Magdalena is believed to have originated from the ancient town of Magdala, located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Israel. The town's name may have derived from the Hebrew word "migdal," meaning tower or fortress, or from the Aramaic word "magdlatha," meaning tower. This association with Magdala led to the name being interpreted as "the Magdalene" or "of Magdala."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Madalena can be found in the Bible, where Mary Magdalene is mentioned several times as a devoted disciple of Jesus. She is often referred to as a witness to the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and is considered an important figure in early Christianity.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Madalena. One of the earliest is Madalena of Hamal (c. 1190 – c. 1257), a Flemish mystic and Beguine who was known for her religious writings and teachings. Another notable figure is Madalena de Coimbra (1532 – 1633), a Portuguese noblewoman and religious figure who founded the Convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain.
In the field of literature, Madalena Casulana (c. 1544 – 1590) was an Italian lutenist and composer who published one of the earliest known collections of secular music written by a woman. Madalena Rigaud (1786 – 1858) was a French painter and portraitist who is known for her works depicting historical and mythological subjects.
More recently, Madalena Iglesias (1930 – 2008) was a Portuguese writer and author known for her works exploring themes of exile, displacement, and the experiences of women. She was awarded the prestigious Camões Prize for her literary contributions.
While the name Madalena has roots in ancient times, it has remained a popular choice throughout various cultures and regions, especially in parts of Europe and Latin America. The name's enduring presence reflects its historical and cultural significance, as well as its association with the influential figure of Mary Magdalene.
People
Madalena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madalena as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Madalena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madalena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 694 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madalena going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 493,882 US residents.
Is Madalena a common name?
We classify Madalena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 810 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madalena most popular?
The single biggest year for Madalena was 2010, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madalena is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Madalena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 970 people with the name Madalena, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,724 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Madalena in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Madalena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Madalena appears almost entirely female. Of the 967 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Madalena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Madalena is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (8.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Madalena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Madalena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.0% (563 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Madalena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Madalena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madalena in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Madalena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Madalena in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Madalena can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Madalena?
Want to know how many people share the name Madalena? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.