Madelyne is an American spelling of Madeline, the English form of the French Madeleine, which comes from Mary Magdalene and means "woman from Magdala", a town on the Sea of Galilee whose name means "tower". Ludwig Bemelmans's picture books about the Parisian schoolgirl Madeline keep the name family popular. Madelyne itself has always been rare: it peaked at number 1429 in 2000, fell to number 4340 in 2022 and has recovered to number 2270 in 2025.