girls' name ★ peaked 1998

Madeline

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #81 Trend → Stable

Anglicized from French Madeleine, from Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ).

Rank 2025
#81
among girls · ↑5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,086
named Madeline · +6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 521
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1998
5,869 babies
All-time total
207,630
#194 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Madeline popularity over time

207,630 babies have been named Madeline since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 454 – 454 45 – #250
1890s 2,242 – 2,242 224 +394% #148
1900s 4,080 – 4,080 408 +82% #137
1910s 13,042 – 13,042 1,304 +220% #116
1920s 15,558 27 15,585 1,559 +19% #138
1930s 8,516 14 8,530 853 -45% #173
1940s 9,602 24 9,626 963 +13% #177
1950s 6,270 11 6,281 628 -35% #281
1960s 4,775 5 4,780 478 -24% #396
1970s 2,739 – 2,739 274 -43% #535
1980s 5,497 23 5,520 552 +102% #237
1990s 36,967 37 37,004 3,700 +570% #50
2000s 48,280 81 48,361 4,836 +31% #56
2010s 32,375 23 32,398 3,240 -33% #77
2020s (to 2025) 16,988 – 16,988 2,831 -13% #81

Where Madeline is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 3,117 1.94 #79
2027 3,145 1.96 #78
2028 3,168 1.97 #76
2029 3,188 1.98 #76
2030 3,204 1.99 #76

Where Madeline is most popular

Girls named Madeline per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.75 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, District of Columbia, and Vermont.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Madeline born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 106 5.74 +228%
District of Columbia 64 5.40 +209%
Vermont 24 4.95 +183%
Maine 74 4.78 +174%
Rhode Island 51 4.07 +133%
Massachusetts 480 3.97 +127%
Connecticut 229 3.94 +125%
Alaska 30 3.48 +99%
Wyoming 12 2.81 +61%
Delaware 31 2.73 +56%
Wisconsin 281 2.73 +56%
Virginia 460 2.70 +54%
Minnesota 287 2.66 +52%
Illinois 595 2.60 +49%
Nebraska 91 2.53 +45%
Maryland 261 2.46 +41%
West Virginia 64 2.44 +40%
Oregon 158 2.43 +39%
Washington 346 2.40 +37%
Colorado 266 2.38 +36%
South Carolina 213 2.37 +35%
Alabama 222 2.36 +35%
South Dakota 33 2.31 +32%
North Dakota 30 2.28 +31%
Tennessee 361 2.28 +30%
Nevada 105 2.26 +29%
New Jersey 405 2.24 +28%
New Mexico 53 2.18 +25%
Pennsylvania 514 2.17 +24%
Oklahoma 158 2.15 +23%
Arizona 301 2.15 +23%
Montana 29 2.14 +22%
North Carolina 482 2.12 +21%
New York 832 2.10 +20%
Kentucky 179 2.09 +20%
Michigan 379 2.08 +19%
Kansas 116 2.01 +15%
Louisiana 171 1.95 +12%
Georgia 441 1.94 +11%
Ohio 455 1.92 +10%
Texas 1,535 1.91 +9%
California 1,597 1.90 +9%
Arkansas 95 1.80 ≈ national
Indiana 249 1.77 ≈ national
Idaho 59 1.76 ≈ national
Utah 145 1.74 ≈ national
Iowa 99 1.69 ≈ national
Missouri 204 1.69 ≈ national
Hawaii 19 1.66 -5%
Mississippi 75 1.60 -8%
Florida 682 1.59 -9%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Madeline

Madeline is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #81 in 2025 with 3,086 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 207,630 American babies have been named Madeline. Its peak came in 1998, when 5,869 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Madeline stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Madeline?

The median living Madeline is about 22 years old; half are between 13 and 30. An estimated 160 thousand people named Madeline are alive in the United States today.

median 22 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Madeline year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 3,086 #81 – –
2024 2,922 #86 – –
2023 2,733 #95 – –
2022 2,700 #102 – –
2021 2,747 #95 – –
2020 2,800 #96 – –
2019 2,861 #98 – –
2018 2,918 #100 5 #13,405
2017 2,966 #99 – –
2016 3,280 #90 5 #13,452
2015 3,339 #91 – –
2014 3,445 #89 – –
2013 3,371 #90 – –
2012 3,162 #96 – –
2011 3,429 #85 6 #11,737
2010 3,604 #77 7 #10,345
2009 4,300 #64 – –
2008 4,820 #56 9 #8,748
2007 4,705 #61 5 #13,633
2006 4,477 #71 7 #10,236
2005 4,528 #70 9 #8,064
2004 4,767 #63 17 #4,920
2003 4,976 #61 14 #5,444
2002 5,114 #56 6 #10,173
2001 5,222 #56 5 #11,659
2000 5,371 #56 9 #7,188
1995 4,430 #79 11 #5,378
1990 1,494 #198 8 #6,192
1985 382 #524 – –
1980 232 #723 – –
1975 270 #597 – –
1970 354 #535 – –
1965 464 #438 – –
1960 573 #399 – –
1955 602 #353 6 #3,739
1950 759 #281 – –
1945 782 #237 – –
1940 874 #200 5 #3,765
1935 714 #235 – –
1930 1,144 #173 9 #2,924
1925 1,506 #158 7 #3,610
1920 1,779 #138 – –
1915 1,670 #121 – –
1910 560 #145 – –
1905 412 #145 – –
1900 389 #149 – –
1895 237 #174 – –
1890 96 #256 – –
1885 41 #319 – –
1880 22 #347 – –

Famous people named Madeline

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Madeline Kahn Madeline Kahn American actress (1942–1999) Contemporary
  2. 2 Madeline Zima Madeline Zima American actress (born 1985) Contemporary
  3. 3 Madeline Carroll Madeline Carroll American actress b. 1996 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Madeline Manning Madeline Manning American athletics competitor b. 1948 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Madeline, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Madeline?

The median living Madeline is about 22 years old. Half of all living Madelines are between 13 and 30 years old.

How many people named Madeline are alive today?

An estimated 160 thousand people named Madeline are alive in the United States, based on 207,630 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Madeline mean?

Anglicized from French Madeleine, from Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ).

How popular is the name Madeline in 2025?

Madeline ranked #81 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,086 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Madeline?

207,630 babies have been named Madeline in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Madeline most popular?

Madeline peaked in 1998, when 5,869 newborns received the name.

Is Madeline a boy or girl name?

Madeline is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Madeline rising or falling?

Madeline has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Madeline become more popular?

Madeline looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,204 girls named Madeline in 2030, ranking around #76. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Madeline?

Well-known people named Madeline include Madeline Kahn (actor), Madeline Zima (actor), Madeline Carroll (actor).

Names like Madeline

Names that sound and feel close to Madeline: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Madeline with similar names → More names starting with M →