Madeleine (given name)

Madeline

Mary Magdalene, the saint responsible for the popularity of the name Madeline, in a painting by Frederick Sandys
Pronunciation	/ˈmædəlɪn/ MAD-əl-in French: [madˈlɛn, madˈlen] Madeline: /ˈmædəlaɪn/ MAD-ə-lyne, /-liːn/ -⁠leen, /-lɪn/ -⁠lin
Gender	Female
Origin
Meaning	"from the city of Magdala"
Other names
Related names	Madelyn/Madalyn, Magdalena, Magdalene, მაგდა (Geo:Magda), Maddalena, Maddy/Maddie
Popularity	see popular names

Madeleine or Madeline is a feminine given name, ultimately of Greek origin. The name exists in various spellings and pronunciations and is popular among those living in Europe and English-speakers, as well as followers of Christianity, as Mary Magdalene was a central figure in the New Testament.

Madeleine is a modern rendering, found in English and French, of the Greek epithet Μαγδαληνὴ (Magdalene, "from Magdala"). It arose as a name due to its association with the Biblical character and female disciple Mary Magdalene. It has a secondary meaning from German of "little girl" (Mädelein).

Pronunciation depends on the language and the country. In France, the name is pronounced /ma.dlɛn/ and the two most popular pronunciations in English are /ˈmædələn/ (American English) and /ˈmadlɪn/ (British English).

Madelyn and Madalyn are alternative spellings. Diminutives include Maddy, Maddie, Maddi and Leine.

People named Madeleine

• Madeleine of Valois (1520–1537), French princess who was briefly Queen consort of Scotland through her marriage to James V of Scotland
• Madeleine Albright (1937–2022), American politician and the first woman United States Secretary of State
• Madeleine Astor (1893–1940), second wife and widow of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV and a survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster
• Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779–1865), French Catholic saint and founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart
• Madeleine Béjart (1618–1672), French actor and theatre director
• Madeleine Brès (1842–1921), first French woman to obtain a medical degree
• Madeleine Boullogne (1646-1710), French Baroque still life painter
• Madeleine Carroll (1906–1987), English actress
• Madeleine Damerment (1917–1944), French Resistance member
• Madeleine Dassault (1901–1992), French industrialist
• Madeleine Dean (born 1959), American politician
• Madeleine Herman de Blic, Belgian-born Indian social worker and humanist
• Madeleine de Roybon d'Allonne (1646–1718), early settler of New France
• Madeline Early (1912–2001), American mathematician and university professor
• Madeleine Eastoe, Australian ballet dancer
• Madeleine Juneau (1945-2020), Canadian museologist, teacher, nun
• Madeline Kripke (1943–2020), American book collector
• Madeleine Kunin (born 1933), American politician and first woman governor of Vermont
• Madeleine Lartessuti (1478–1543), French shipper and banker
• Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007), American writer; author of the Wrinkle in Time series
• Madeleine Lipszyc (known as Magdalith, 1932–2013), French painter, singer, composer, author and liturgist
• Madeleine Mantock (born 1990), British actress
• Madeleine McCann (born 2003), British girl who disappeared while on vacation in Portugal in May 2007
• Madeleine Mitchell, British violinist
• Madeleine Peyroux (born 1973), American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist
• Madeleine de Puisieux (1720–1798), French philosopher and feminist writer
• Madeleine Rolland (1872-1960), French translator and peace activist
• Madeleine Smith (1835–1928), Scottish socialite tried for murder
• Madeleine Stowe (born 1958), American actress
• Madeleine Vionnet (1876–1975), French fashion designer who was the first to cut dresses on the bias
• Madeleine Worrall (born 1977), Scottish actress
• Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born 1982), seventh in line to the Swedish throne

People named Madeline

• Madeline Bell (born 1942), American soul singer
• Madeline McDowell Breckenridge (1872–1920), American women's suffragette leader and reformer
• Madeline Brewer (born 1992), American actress
• Madeline Carroll (born 1996), American actress
• Madeline McWhinney Dale (1922–2020), American economist and banker
• Madeline Duggan (born 1994), English actress
• Madeline Fairbanks (1900–1989), American actress
• Madeline Ivalu, Canadian filmmaker and actress
• Madeline Juno (born 1995), German singer-songwriter
• Madeline Kahn (1942–1999), American actress, comedian and singer
• Madeline Lewellin (1854–1944), Australian artist
• Madeline Manning (born 1948), American track and field runner
• Madeline Mitchell (born 1989), American beauty pageant contestant
• Madeline Perry (born 1977), professional squash player from Northern Ireland
• Madeline Smith (born 1949), English actress and comedian
• Madeline Zima (born 1985), American actress

Fictional characters

• Madeline, heroine of the book series of the same name by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Monsieur Madeleine, an alias used by Jean Valjean in the novel Les Misérables
• Madeline Bassett, a recurring character in the Jeeves stories of P. G. Wodehouse
• Madeline Bray, the wife of Nicholas Nickleby in the novel of that name by Charles Dickens
• Madeleine Cahill, in The 39 Clues novel series
• Madeleine Elster, the mysterious central character in Hitchcock's film, Vertigo
• Maddie Fitzpatrick (Madeline), in Disney's TV series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
• Madeleine Gotto, from the Canadian children's animated television series Mona the Vampire
• Madeleine Gravis, from Charlie Kauffman's film, Synecdoche, New York
• Madeleine Hanna, the heroine of Jeffrey Eugenides' 2011 book The Marriage Plot
• Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter in the Mattel doll franchise Ever After High
• Madeline "Mads" Ryback, in the television show The Lying Game
• Dr. Madeleine Swann, love interest in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre
• Madeline Wayne, title character of Oh Madeline, an American sitcom that lasted one season (1983–84)
• Madeline "Maddie" Fenton, the mother of the titular character of the American animated series Danny Phantom
• Madeline Usher, the twin sister of Roderick Usher in the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
• Madeline Westen, in the television series Burn Notice
• Madeline (Celeste), protagonist of the 2018 video game Celeste
• Maddy (Madeleine) Perez, in the television series Euphoria