Maylene
A feminine name of French origin meaning "ill-tempered".
Name Census estimates that about 999 living Americans carry the first name Maylene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maylene today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maylene births was 2012 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maylene. 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
999
~ 1 in 343,097 Americans
Peak year
2012
41 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,230
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Maylene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maylene 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 299 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maylene remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maylene 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 Maylene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maylenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Maylene, while Arizona, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maylene
The name Maylene is a modern variation of the French name Madeleine, which is derived from the Hebrew name Magdalene. Madeleine was a popular name in medieval France and was borne by several saints and historical figures.
The origin of the name Magdalene can be traced back to the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, one of the most important female disciples of Jesus Christ. The name is derived from the Aramaic words "Migdal" meaning "tower" and "Tsedek" meaning "righteousness," suggesting that the name may have meant "woman of the tower" or "woman of righteousness."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maylene can be found in the 16th century, when it was used as a variant spelling of Madeleine. During this time, the French form of the name was commonly used in England and other parts of Europe.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Maylene Desbordes (1620-1680) was a French writer and poet known for her works exploring themes of love, nature, and spirituality. Her poetry collection, "Les Amours de Maylene," published in 1650, was widely acclaimed and contributed to the popularity of the name during that period.
Another historical figure with the name Maylene was Maylene de Montpensier (1705-1782), a French noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her support of writers, artists, and philosophers, and her salon in Paris was a gathering place for intellectuals and cultural figures of the time.
In the 19th century, Maylene Boulanger (1837-1915) was a French sculptor and painter who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She is recognized for her contributions to the Realist movement and her depictions of everyday life and working-class subjects.
Maylene Deslandes (1859-1918) was a Canadian writer and journalist who was active in the women's suffrage movement. She founded the publication "La Voix des Femmes" and advocated for women's rights and education.
While the name Maylene has been used throughout history, it has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent decades, particularly in English-speaking countries where it has been adopted as a modern variation of the traditional name Madeleine.
People
Maylene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maylene 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
Maylene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maylene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 999 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maylene 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 343,097 US residents.
Is Maylene a common name?
We classify Maylene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maylene most popular?
The single biggest year for Maylene was 2012, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maylene is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Maylene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maylene 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.