Madeline

updated Sept 2015

Madeline ~ of Madgala ~ French

Many of us know Madeline as the name of an endearing French girl who stood out from her 11 schoolmates in the famous Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans. In these stories, the precocious girl tours Paris and has many adventures with her class, showing bravery and spirit every step of the way. The beautiful Parisian illustrations combined with charming rhymed verse have made Madeline a star since the stories were first published in 1939.

I give a lot of credit for the love affair we have with the name Madeline to these wonderful books. They made a French name more accessible for Americans and created a soft spot in our hearts for the name.

Popularity
The name Madeline has also taken off in the past decade due to its cultured air and flowing sound. If you choose this name you must be willing to share it with many other girls across America, and probably at least one in your daughter's school. Since Madison is also a popular name, the nickname Maddie is heard even more commonly. It's something to keep in mind, but it shouldn't deter you if you're looking for a beautiful and well-liked name.

How to pronounce Madeline
The most popular pronunciation is MAD-ah-linn. Only a few will use this name intending it to be pronounced mad-ah-LINE (long i). It's interesting that the Madeline series of books rhymes Madeline with words like "shine" "fine" and "time," leading me to believe Bemelmans meant it to be pronounced this way. In Europe, you may hear mad-LEEN or Mad-ah-LEEN.

Variations

• Mada
• Madalyn
• Maddi or Maddie
• Madelaine
• Madeleine
• Madelene
• Madelyn
• Madalina
• Madge
• Madilyn
• Madga

More on Madeline

• Rated #89 in the US for 2014 (still popular, but beginning to drop in popularity just a bit)
• Celeb babies with this name:
• David Duchovny & Tea Leoni's daughter
• Lea Thompson's daughter
• Doug Savant's daughter
• Adam Sandler's daughter, Sunny Madeline
• Jamie Lynn Spears named her daughter Maddie, a variation of Madeline that was inspired by Bemelmans' books
• Characters named Madeline include
• Madeline Fitzpatrick, a character in Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
• Madeline Hayes, a character in the 80s TV series Moonlighting played by Cybil Shepherd
• Madeline Ferguson, a character in the 90s TV series Twin Peaks