The name [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] has been at the top of my list since I found out I was pregnant, but I’ve been forcing it a little because it’s less popular than the traditional [name_f]Madeline[/name_f].
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you hear the name [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] too often? I am hoping to pronounce it Ma-deh-[name_f]LINE[/name_f], not Ma-deh-[name_f]LIN[/name_f]. And I am not going to encourage the nickname [name_f]Maddy[/name_f]/[name_f]Maddie[/name_f]. That’s the only downside to this name. It’s inevitable that someone will call her [name_f]Maddy[/name_f], which I agree is super cute but a bit to overused for my taste.
According to the nameberry “playground analysis,” [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] is actually more popular than [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] when you add in all the alternative spellings. 2016 Baby Names: The Playground Analysis | Nameberry
I slightly prefer [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]. My impression is [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] has been popular for longer so you will run into more older Madelines. I don’t know a ton of babies, but I have run into one [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], several Madisons, no Madelines.
In 2016, [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] was actually more popular than [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], coming in at #63. [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] has actually already hit its peak - #50 in 1998, compared to #91 in 2016. However, don’t think that this makes the name trendy or that it’s on a downward spiral. It has started to decline gradually but over almost 20 years it’s only fallen 40 spots so that’s actually quite the opposite of trendy. It’s also likely that a little [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] born today would meet some Madelines older than her, kind of like the name [name_u]Kimberly[/name_u] which also fits into many generations.
However, with a peak of 50 and a 2016 ranking of 91, [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] isn’t super popular. Of course it is in the top 100 but it’s not overused or saturated, and since it’s been so constant in the upper part of the top 100 it is a quite familiar name. It’s too early to tell the staying power of [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], but to me it does come across as a little trendy at the moment just because of the way it’s risen soooo quickly. [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] has been a more constant, steady presence.
What I’m trying to say is that, yes, [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] has been a popular name but not in the overused way, more so in a familiar way and not one that dates a [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] to a certain decade either. And I’m not 100% sure we will be able to say the same about [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] in 30 years.
For what it’s worth, I do prefer [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] and I know many young Adelines but very few young Madelines.
Out of the 23 years of being alive, I’ve never heard of anyone named [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]. I personally don’t like [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], it looks forced.
Wow, really? That’s not what I expected but it totally works for me. I guess I was basing it off of my niece partially. She’s 14 and has 2 friends named [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] but those friends will all be 14/15 years older than DD when she is born.