Madchen
A feminine German name meaning "girl" or "maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Madchen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madchen today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madchen births was 2000 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madchen. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Madchen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
2000
6 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2003 SSA rank
#15,009
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Madchen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madchen from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 12 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madchen 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 Madchen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madchen
The name Madchen is a German word that means "little girl" or "young woman." It is derived from the Middle High German word "maget," which in turn comes from the Old High German "magad," meaning "virgin" or "unmarried woman." The root of the word can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic "magadiz," which is related to the Sanskrit word "magh," meaning "to be able" or "to have power."
Historically, the word "Madchen" was used as a term of endearment or a way to address a young, unmarried woman in German-speaking regions. It did not necessarily function as a given name in the same way that modern names do. However, some records show instances where "Madchen" was used as a first name, particularly in rural or working-class communities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of "Madchen" being used as a given name dates back to the 17th century. In 1672, a woman named Madchen Muller was born in the village of Wittenberg, Germany. She later married a farmer named Johann Schneider and lived in the same area for most of her life.
Another notable figure with the name Madchen was Madchen Hausmann, a German painter who lived from 1772 to 1834. She was known for her portraits and landscapes, and some of her works are still displayed in galleries in Berlin and Dresden.
In the 19th century, a woman named Madchen Keller (1826-1895) became a prominent figure in the German labor movement. She worked as a seamstress and was involved in organizing strikes and advocating for better working conditions for women in the textile industry.
A more recent example is Madchen Amick, an American actress born in 1970. She is best known for her roles in the television series "Twin Peaks" and "Riverdale." While her given name is spelled differently, it is still derived from the German word "Madchen."
It is worth noting that while "Madchen" was occasionally used as a given name in the past, it is rare to find it being used as a first name in modern times, particularly in German-speaking countries. The word has retained its meaning as a term for a young woman or girl, but it is not commonly bestowed as a proper name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Madchen
People
Madchen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madchen 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
Madchen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madchen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madchen 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Madchen a common name?
We classify Madchen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madchen most popular?
The single biggest year for Madchen was 2000, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madchen is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Madchen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madchen 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.
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.