Magdalen

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Magdalen is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Polish given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia

  Languages: Polish, Bulgarian, Croatian

  Also written Магдален

44 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Magdalen is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, college. Oxford Univ.

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Islands. Canada

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Maud Laneb. 1507not in their usual name[née Parr], (c.1507–1558/9), English courtier
• Magdalen Dacreb. 1538GBEnglish noble and Catholic recusant
• Magdalen Sophie von Braunschweig-Lüneburgb. 1540Peerage person ID=7584
• Magdalen Herbertb. 1561English woman (died 1627), mother of poet George Herbert
• Magdalen Sybille von Sachsen-Gothab. 1671(1671-1673)
• Princess Magdalene Henriette of Nassau-Weilburgb. 1691not in their usual name(1691-1725)
• Magdalen Hallb. 1793GBBritish woman, wife of Colonel William Howe de Lancey (neé Hall)
• Magdalen Nabbb. 1947GBBritish writer known for crime fiction and children's fiction (1947-2007)
• Alice Ormsby-Goreb. 1952GBnot in their usual namedaughter of 5th Baron Harlech, fiancée of Eric Clapton (1952-1995)
• Magdalen Bernsb. 1983GBsoftware developer and feminist

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the name Magdalen come from?

Older English form of Madeleine, usually pronounced ‘maud-lin’. This was the usual form of the given name in the Middle Ages. Recorded by A concise dictionary of first names.

How do you pronounce Magdalen?

A machine transcription gives /ˈmæɡdəɫən/ (IPA) for English.

What does the name Magdalen mean?

Recorded meaning: Older English form of Madeleine, usually pronounced ‘maud-lin’.

Is Magdalen a male or female name?

Magdalen is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What are other forms of the name Magdalen?

In the etymology graph, Magdalena, Magali and Madeline are forms of the same name in other languages; Lena is a recorded short or pet form.

In which country does Magdalen have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 1.4 thousand people named Magdalen, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled magdalen.

Where is Magdalen most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Magdalen is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 42 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Magdalen?

In the United States, the national register counted 1,436 people named Magdalen in 2020, about 1 in 232 thousand residents.