Madelene
A feminine name of French origin meaning "woman from the high tower".
Name Census estimates that about 1,319 living Americans carry the first name Madelene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madelene today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madelene births was 1921 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madelene. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 259,859 Americans
Peak year
1921
57 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,897
Tracked since 1893
Popularity
Madelene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madelene from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 412 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madelene 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 Madelene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Madelenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Madelene, while West Virginia, Ohio, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madelene
The name Madelene is a feminine given name derived from the Biblical name Magdalene, which is the Latinized form of the Hebrew name Migdal, meaning "tower" or "elevated". It originated in ancient Judea during the 1st century AD and was borne by the famous Mary Magdalene, who was a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
The name Madelene gained popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and England. It was a common name among the nobility and upper classes, with notable bearers including Madelene of Valois (1443-1498), a French princess who was the daughter of King Charles VII.
In the 16th century, the name Madelene was brought to the Americas by French and English settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World was Madelene LeMoyne (1608-1665), a French colonist who settled in Quebec, Canada.
The name Madelene has been borne by several notable figures throughout history, including Madelene de Scudéry (1607-1701), a French novelist and salonnière known for her literary works and intellectual gatherings. Another famous bearer was Madelene de Verchères (1678-1747), a French-Canadian heroine who defended her family's fort against an Iroquois attack at the age of 14.
In the 19th century, Madelene Albright (1804-1883) was a German-American educator and writer who founded the Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. Another notable Madelene from this period was Madelene Brès (1842-1921), a French painter and sculptor known for her portraits and allegorical works.
In more recent times, Madelene Kunin (born 1933) was the first female governor of Vermont, serving from 1985 to 1991. Madelene L'Engle (1918-2007) was an American writer best known for her classic children's novel "A Wrinkle in Time", which won the Newbery Medal in 1963.
People
Madelene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madelene 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
Madelene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madelene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madelene 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 259,859 US residents.
Is Madelene a common name?
We classify Madelene as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,704 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madelene most popular?
The single biggest year for Madelene was 1921, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madelene is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Madelene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madelene 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.