I love boh [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], however I cannot decide which of the two I prefer. To me, they are entirely different names, but because spellings are so similar, I’d like to just pick one.
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] honours my [name_m]French[/name_m]-Canadian heritage (a la [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] de Vercheres), and for me, as someone who does speak [name_m]French[/name_m] rather fluently, is pronounced Mad-eh-lehn (similar in sound to pen).
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f] is after my favourite books as a child, [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] by [name_m]Ludwig[/name_m] Bemelmans. I pronounce this one as Mad-eh-line (rhyming with fine).
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]. It’s gorgeous. It reminds me of [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] of [name_u]Sweden[/name_u], and she’s absolutely stunning.
I like both, but prefer [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] I think. One of the reasons is that [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] will be pronounced different ways - though I pronounce it as your do (line to rhyme with fine) and I think it’s mostly pronounced that way in Australia where I am).
[name_u]Love[/name_u] them both, you can’t go wrong. If I had to pick I’d say [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], I think the spelling is gorgeous and love the subtle difference in pronunciation.
Technically, I prefer [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], but I think it would get mispronounced as [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f] even more than [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] would. For that reason I prefer [name_f]Madeline[/name_f].
I much prefer [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] & its pronunciation…it reminds me of the lovely woman who taught my art history class while I was an exchange student in Strasbourg ([name_f]Marie[/name_f]-[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f])!
Much prefer [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]! It’s elegant and nicer to say. And, fwiw, I’ve only ever met [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]’s (pronounced as you say) in Australia, never the “fine” way, which wouldn’t have occurred to me as an option.
