Girls' name · peaked in 1998
Madeline name popularity since 1925
178,959 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Madeline. Half of them were born in 2001 or earlier, so the typical Madeline is about 25 years old in 2026. Madeline peaked in 1998 as the #50 name for girls, and it ranked #81 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 178,959
- Named Madeline, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #81
- for girls in 2025 (3,086 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% girls
- 178,719 girls · 240 boys
- Most popular in
- New Hampshire
- 1.66× its national share
Peak year is the year Madeline made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Madeline births per year, 1925–2025
1998 was the biggest year for Madeline both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1949 and 1954, Madeline's share of baby girls fell by 43%, from 1 in 1,900 to 1 in 3,300.
- Fastest rise: Between 1984 and 1989, it became 3.7× more common, from 1 in 5,850 baby girls to 1 in 1,580.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Madeline's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Madeline.
Decade by decade
Babies named Madeline in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 6,710 | 22 | – |
| 1930s | 8,516 | 14 | #235 |
| 1940s | 9,602 | 24 | #237 |
| 1950s | 6,270 | 11 | #353 |
| 1960s | 4,775 | 5 | #438 |
| 1970s | 2,739 | 0 | #597 |
| 1980s | 5,497 | 23 | #524 |
| 1990s | 36,967 | 37 | #79 |
| 2000s | 48,280 | 81 | #70 |
| 2010s | 32,375 | 23 | #91 |
| 2020–25 | 16,988 | 0 | #81 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.5% of babies named Madeline from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Madeline is most popular
The index compares Madeline's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Madeline.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 1.66× | 928 |
| Minnesota | 1.53× | 4,961 |
| Connecticut | 1.48× | 2,850 |
| Maine | 1.44× | 1,091 |
| New York | 1.37× | 18,415 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Madeline and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Madeline (this page) | 178,719 | 1998 |
| Madeleine | 42,176 | 1998 |
| Madaline | 3,404 | 1906 |
| Madelyne | 3,264 | 2000 |
| Madelaine | 3,206 | 1998 |
| Madelene | 1,939 | 1914 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Madeline's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Madeline.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Madeline (1998).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data