Madeleine
A feminine French diminutive of the German name Magdalena; of Greek origin meaning "from Magdala".
Name Census estimates that about 37,156 living Americans carry the first name Madeleine. It sits at #437 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madeleine today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madeleine births was 1998 (1,424 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madeleine. 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.
People living today
37K
~ 1 in 9,225 Americans
Peak year
1998
1,424 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2014 SSA rank
#437
Tracked since 1881
Gender
Gender distribution for Madeleine
Out of the 45,054 babies given the name Madeleine since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Madeleine as a male name
- Ranked #13,299 in 2014
- 5 male births in 2014
- Peak: 1989 (10 births)
Madeleine as a female name
- Ranked #437 in 2024
- 707 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (1,424 births)
Popularity
Madeleine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madeleine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 10,625 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Madeleine remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madeleine 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 Madeleine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Madeleines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Madeleine, while Alaska, Montana, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 826 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madeleine
The name Madeleine originates from the French language and has its roots in the biblical name Magdalene, which refers to Mary Magdalene, a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The name Madeleine is derived from the Hebrew name Migdal, meaning "tower" or "elevated."
In the 12th century, the name Madeleine gained popularity in France, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. It was often associated with grace, piety, and devotion, reflecting the qualities attributed to Mary Magdalene.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Madeleine can be found in the writings of the French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut, who lived from around 1300 to 1377. He dedicated several works to a woman named Madeleine.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Madeleine. One of the most famous is Madeleine de Souvré, Marquise de Sablé (1599-1678), a French writer and prominent figure in the literary salons of 17th-century Paris.
Another notable Madeleine was Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701), a French novelist and prolific writer of the Baroque period, known for her influential works such as "Artamène, ou le Grand Cyrus" and "Clélie, histoire romaine."
In the 19th century, Madeleine Brès (1842-1898) was a French feminist and writer who advocated for women's rights and education. She founded the Société pour l'Enseignement Professionnel des Femmes (Society for the Professional Education of Women) in Paris.
Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975) was a renowned French fashion designer known for her innovative and revolutionary approach to dressmaking, using the bias-cut technique to create elegant and fluid garments.
In the 20th century, Madeleine Albright (born 1937) gained international recognition as the first female United States Secretary of State, serving under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Madeleine
People
Madeleine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madeleine 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
Madeleine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madeleine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 37,156 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madeleine 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 9,225 US residents.
Is Madeleine a common name?
We classify Madeleine as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45,054 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madeleine most popular?
The single biggest year for Madeleine was 1998, when 1,424 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madeleine is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Madeleine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madeleine 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.