Madeline
Top 1000
About Madeline
Madeline, a lovely name with a soft and delicate image, is an old-fashioned favorite that returned to favor in the 1990s, combining a classic pedigree with a cute nickname option: Maddie.
Madeline has been found frequently in literature, from the poems of Keats and Tennyson to Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby to the charming and much-loved children's books of Ludwig Bemelmans starring the sprightly French schoolgirl.
The name has numerous spelling variants, including the French Madeleine and the new options, like Madelyn and Madalyn.
Never off the Social Security list, Madeline entered the Top 100 in 1994, peaking at Number 50 in 1998. It remains one of the most popular girls' names starting with M and is the favorite spelling option among Nameberry users.
While Madelyn is now the preferred choice in the US — perhaps to avoid confusion over that end sound — Madeline doesn't rank far behind and is still given to more than 2500 babies every year. When you combine all the spelling variants together, however, Madeline and co begin to feel a lot like a Top 10 option.
Not necessarily a bad thing — it is a versatile and sophisticated option after all — but if you were looking for something a little more unexpected, Gwendoline, Marigold, Amandine, Maude, or Marcelline might appeal to you.
Pronounced MAD-uh-lin; MAD-uh-leen.
As of October 2026, Madeline ranked #81 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #50 in 1998, Nameberry popularity #190.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #89 | 3,445 | 1,928.5 |
| 2015 | #91 | 3,339 | 1,870.5 |
| 2016 | #89 | 3,280 | 1,851 |
| 2017 | #99 | 2,965 | 1,717.4 |
| 2018 | #100 | 2,917 | 1,714.8 |
| 2019 | #98 | 2,861 | 1,704.6 |
| 2020 | #96 | 2,799 | 1,731.5 |
| 2021 | #95 | 2,747 | 1,674.1 |
| 2022 | #102 | 2,698 | 1,645 |
| 2023 | #94 | 2,732 | 1,702.6 |
| 2024 | #87 | 2,907 | 1,794.2 |
| 2025 | #81 | 3,086 | 1,920 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Madeline.
- Claire
- Sophie
- Abigail
- Eva
- Audrey
- Isabel
- Caroline
- Lillian
- Madeleine
- Julia
- Hannah
- Elise
- Anna
- Natalie
- Emilia
- Eliza
- Annabelle
- Lydia
- Ella
- Leah
Madeline on lists
Famous Madelines
- Madeline Gail Kahn
American actress
- (Marissa) Madeline Carroll
American actress
- Madeline Juno
German singer,songwriter
- Madeline Elizabeth Duggan
English actress
- Madeline Brewer
American actress
- Madeline Manning
American Olympic runner
- Madeline "Maya" Dirado
American swimmer
- Madeline Lee Gilford
American actress
- Madeline Harper
pen name of American novelists Madeline Porter and Shannon Harper
- Madeline Fairbanks
American silent film actress; twin sister Marion Fairbanks
- Madeline Bell
American R&B singer
- Madeline Zima
American actress
- Madeline Mulqueen
Irish model and actress
- Madeline Merlo
Canadian country music singer
- Madeline Cowe
Miss World Australia 2016
- Madeline Helen Arakawa Gins
American artist
- Madeline Mitchell Gwin
Miss Alabama USA 2011
- Madeline Hartog
Bel, Peruvian model; 1967 Miss World
- Madeline Smith (b. 1990)
daughter of actors Cotter Smith and Mel Harris
- Madeline O'Reilly (b. 1998)
daughter of TV commentator Bill O'Reilly
- Madeline Beaver (b. 2001)
daughter of actors Cecily Adams and Jim Beaver
- Madeline Leigh DeMarcus (b. 2010)
daughter of singer Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and Allison Alderson
- Madeline Emilia Castro (b. 2011)
daughter of singer Jason Castro
- Madeline Robbie Schneider (b. 2016)
daughter of actor Rob Schneider
- Sunny Madeline Sandler (b. 2009)
daughter of actor Adam Sandler
Madeline in pop culture
- Madeline
character in the "Madeline" children's books, TV show, and movies
- Madeline Robin
character in "Winnie,the,Pooh" series
- Madeline Reeves
character on American soap "General Hospital"
- Madeline Bassett
character in P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" series
- Madeline Martha Mackenzie
character in book and TV series "Big Little Lies"
- "Madeline Lee
" opera by John Haddock
- Madeline Beck
character in the Dear America series
- Madeline Hatter
character in "Ever After High"
- Madeline "Ma" Oceana
character in the webcomic "Riverside Extras" by Miri Chamberlain
- Madeline Fabray LaMotte Main
character in book and TV miniseries “North and South”
- Madeline Usher
character in the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe