The girls name at the top of our list is [name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Harriet[/name]. However when we discussed it with some of our family there was a bit of a disagreement about how you pronounce [name]Madeleine[/name]. So what I’m asking is what is the correct pronunciation of [name]Madeleine[/name]? and how would you pronounce it if you read it?
If I saw the name on a class roll I would say Mad-eh-line (like the girl from [name]Paris[/name]).
[name]How[/name] I would “LIKE” to say it is Mad-lyn. This is one issue that turned me off the name.
[name]Emilia[/name]
[name]Madeleine[/name] is mad-uh-len to me, ideally, but I’d be surprised by neither “line” nor “lyn” pronunciations instead of “len,” even with that spelling instead of [name]Madeline[/name] or [name]Madelyn[/name].
I’d really hope it’s 3 syllables though. Mad-lyn would make me slightly crazy.
I pronounce it mad-uh-len as well. It’s how my cousin and every other person I’ve met with the name pronounces it too (although the -len often turns into -lyn in quick American speech-not sure about Australian).
The children’s books about the girl from [name]Paris[/name] spell her name [name]Madeline[/name], which, in my opinion, is the only appropriate spelling if you are going for the -[name]LINE[/name] pronunciation.
[name]Madeline[/name] for me is pn Mad-ih-line, like the girl in the book
but [name]Madeleine[/name] makes me say it as Mad-ih-lane
I would say it Mad-uh-len, but in my head I say it Mad-eh-laine.
We have a [name]Madeleine[/name], and we pronounce it mad-len. It sounds best when my French-speaking husband says it 
Here is a link to an audio file: Madeleine Peyroux pronunciation: How to pronounce Madeleine Peyroux in French That is pretty much how it sounds when he says it. I am not that good…
Most people in [name]America[/name] and in English-speaking [name]Canada[/name] pronounce it more like mad-eh-len. We have not had much of an issue with pronunciation–I think [name]Madeleine[/name] Albright helped in that case. Lots of people had seen her name written and heard it pronounced on the news.
I always wonder this–has anyone ever met a little girl named [name]Madeline[/name] who pronounced it the way it is said in the book? I haven’t.
To me, [name]Madeline[/name] is ‘mad-eh-line’ (ending like [name]Caroline[/name]). [name]Madeleine[/name] would be ‘mad-eh-len’ but sort of smooshed together in a hard-to-write-down kind of way. Vandychick explains it the best I think.
I come from a french community and speak Canadian french and with this spelling it is pronounced Ma-de-len, but sometimes it comes out more like a Mad-len when spoken quickly.
For me, [name]Madeleine[/name] is Mad-eh-len and [name]Madeline[/name] is Mad-eh-line. So pretty much in agreement with everyone above!
Not sure which pronunciation you are going for, but this is how I would spell/pronounce each variation:
[name]Madeleine[/name] - mad-uh-leen
[name]Madeline[/name] - mad-uh-line
[name]Madelaine[/name] - mad-uh-lane
[name]Madelyn[/name] - mad-uh-lyn
I agree with the spelling/pronunciations amandas1536 posted.
Medeleine is a french name and the correct pronunciation is not Mad-uh-leen.
if you’re not in a Francophone location, i would say [name]Madeleine[/name] as Mad-eh-line. To me, the only way to get to Mad-uh-linn is [name]Madelyn[/name]. If i lived in [name]France[/name] or [name]Canada[/name], i’d assume Mad-[name]LEN[/name].
Mad-eh-len for me, too. Although I took French for two years, so I honestly can’t imagine it being said any other way. “Leine” would more be the “lane” ending instead of “line” to me, but I don’t think most people would assume Mad-eh-lane (although I think [name]Madelaine[/name] is gorgeous!)…
Mad-len is the closest I can come to phonetically writing it down. It’s Mad-eh-len, but the middle syllable is very short and almost not pronounced. I took 5 years of French and this is how I was taught. It drives me CRAZY when someone spells it this way and pronounces it like [name]Madeline[/name]. Mad-uh-leen is also incorrect, though I could see how it would be plausible (a la [name]Emmeline[/name], [name]Josephine[/name], etc).
[name]Madeleine[/name] to me is Mad-eh-len or maybe more of a Mad-eh-lyn. When I say it kind of quick it comes out like [name]Madelyn[/name]. This name used to be at the top of our girls list spelled [name]Madelyn[/name], but I’ve since grown to love the [name]Madeleine[/name] spelling. I’m not sure if I would say len or lyn. (From what others have said, len would be the right way) It is currently on our list as a middle so I will probably go with the len ending. [name]Madeline[/name] is nice, but I don’t care for “Leen” or “[name]Laine[/name]” endings, they don’t sound right to me.
For me, the three “[name]Maddie[/name]'s” are pronounced as such:
[name]Madeleine[/name] = mad-eh-lehn
[name]Madeline[/name] = mad-eh-line
[name]Madelyn[/name] = mad-eh-lynn
hope this helps!
[name]Just[/name] wanted to add that [name]Madeleine[/name] (Mad-eh-len) is great with [name]Annabelle[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name]. Three classic and feminine names.
[name]Madeleine[/name] is Mad-uh-layn.
[name]Madeline[/name] is Mad-uh-line
[name]Madelyn[/name] is Mad-uh-lyn.
I love the Mad-uh-layn pronunciation but I think I would struggle to get it said that way, especially as I’m not fond of either the line or lyn prns, so sadly doubt I will ever use it. I think [name]Madeleine[/name] [name]Harriet[/name] is gorgeous though.