Madelynne
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "high tower".
Name Census estimates that about 1,692 living Americans carry the first name Madelynne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madelynne today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madelynne births was 2008 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madelynne. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 202,573 Americans
Peak year
2008
103 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,365
Tracked since 1919
Census
Madelynne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,479 people with the first name Madelynne, which placed it at #9,395 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,395
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Madelynne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Madelynne is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Madelynne described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Madelynne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 1,174
- Hispanic or Latino11.4% · 168
- Two or more races5.4% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 27
- Black or African American1.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Popularity
Madelynne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madelynne from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 782 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madelynne 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 Madelynne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Madelynnes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Madelynne, while Washington, Virginia, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madelynne
The name Madelynne is a French feminine given name derived from the Hebrew name Magdalene, which means "woman from Magdala." Magdala was an ancient city located on the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Israel. The name Magdalene is believed to have been derived from the Aramaic words "migdal" meaning "tower" and "eden" meaning "delight" or "pleasure."
The earliest recorded use of the name Madelynne dates back to the Middle Ages in France. It was a popular name among French nobility and aristocracy during this time. The name gained widespread recognition due to its association with Mary Magdalene, a prominent figure in the New Testament and one of the most celebrated female saints in Christianity.
One of the earliest known references to the name Madelynne can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "The Song of Roland," which recounts the exploits of the legendary Frankish knight Roland during the reign of Charlemagne. In the poem, Madelynne is mentioned as the name of a character, though her role is relatively minor.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Madelynne. One of the most famous was Madelynne de la Tour d'Auvergne (1498-1519), a French noblewoman and poet who was renowned for her beauty and intellectual prowess. Another notable figure was Madelynne de Scudéry (1607-1701), a French novelist and salon hostess who was a prominent figure in the literary circles of 17th-century Paris.
In the realm of art, Madelynne Lemaire (1845-1923) was a French painter and sculptor who gained recognition for her portraits and allegorical works. Madelynne de Valmalète (1786-1858), on the other hand, was a French aristocrat and socialite known for her influential salon in Paris during the early 19th century.
In more recent times, Madelynne Renaud (1900-1994) was a celebrated French actress who graced the stage and screen for over six decades. Her performances in numerous plays and films earned her widespread acclaim and numerous awards, cementing her status as one of the most iconic French actresses of the 20th century.
People
Madelynne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madelynne 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
Madelynne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madelynne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,692 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madelynne 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 202,573 US residents.
Is Madelynne a common name?
We classify Madelynne as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,782 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madelynne most popular?
The single biggest year for Madelynne was 2008, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madelynne is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Madelynne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,479 people with the name Madelynne, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,395 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Madelynne in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Madelynne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Madelynne appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,480 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Madelynne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Madelynne is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.4%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Madelynne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Madelynne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (1,174 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Madelynne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Madelynne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madelynne 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.
Is Madelynne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Madelynne in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Madelynne can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Madelynne?
Want to know how many people share the name Madelynne? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.