Madelein vs Madelyn
American parents have registered 116,060 Madelyns since 1880, against 203 Madeleins. Madelyn is still ahead, with 3,362 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Madelein Madelyn
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Madelyn has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1890 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.
The closest they came was 1989, when Madelein had 28 and Madelyn had 237.
Side by side
| Madelein | Madelyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 203 | 116,060 |
| Most in one year | 28 | 4,572 |
| Babies in 2025 | 11 | 3,362 |
| Estimated living today | 200 | 107,000 |
| Median age today | 20 | 14 |
| Peak year | 1989 | 2008 |
| Best rank | 3,566th girls | 64th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 8,860th | 70th |
| First recorded | 1989 | 1890 |
| Girls / boys | 203 / 0 | 116,010 / 50 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Madeleins alive today are over 20; half the Madelyns are over 14. That is 6 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Madelein and Madelyn.