ETYMOLOGY

MADELINE - means woman from the village of Magdla, located on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. Thus - the Hebrew connection.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY
It was first found in the New Testament; all the four gospel narratives, mention Mary of Magdla or Mary Magdalen - the root name for Madeline which is the French derivation. She was a follower of Jesus , after He exorcised her of seven devils. She was with the other woman followers who provided for Jesus when he preaching throughout Galilee. She was painted by renowned artists at the foot of the Cross. There has been controversy by Biblical scholars if she was the woman caught in adultery and the Mary who was the sister of Lazarus.
The controversy still continues with films and books depicting her as wife or lover of Jesus! A recent article stated that leading biblical scholars did not find anything in any historical documents to prove that connection and concluded that Jesus remained a celibate.

FASCINATING FACTS
Mary Magdalen according to some tradition went in exile with the mother of Jesus to Ephesus during the persecution of the Christians. Another tradition is that she retreated to France and lived an austere, penitent life in the caves near Marseille after converting the natives to Christianity,
There is a church there named after her and a group was formed in the 1980’s in the USA called the Society of St.Mary Magdalen . The Catholic church celebrates her feast day on the 22 July.

In 1939,Ludwig Bemelmans wrote a series of books on an orphan named Madelene, a precocious girl with red hair, always getting into trouble , yet an adept problem solver. It was quite popular with the French and European population and was introduced to the US via a 1998 movie of the same name starring Hatty Jones. There is an animated series in the French channel on TV. Madeline dolls are in the online catalogs. There are also a line of shoes named Madeline.
There are two colleges in Cambridge University and Oxford universities named Magdalene.

Several years ago, I travelled by ferry from Prince Edward Island ,Canada to the Madeline Islands which took a few hours. The islands are made up of several picturesque islands in the North Atlantic with sand-dunes and wind-swept beaches and friendly people who spoke mainly French. It is part of Canada.

Madeline also is a small shell-shaped, scrumptious cake found in many French pastry shops. It is made with the same ingredients as butter cake but a lighter version and usually served with coffee or tea.

FAMOUS PERSONS / NAMESAKES
One of the most beloved, comedic, Emmy winning actress was Madeline Kahn who last , was seen on Cosby.
Madeline Zima, a young actress who was featured in Grey’s Anatomy., shot to fame as a
Grace Sheffield in the comedy series “The Nanny”
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Madeline MacNeil , a folk singer who plays the rare musical instrument called the dulcimer.
The late German actress., Marlene Dietrich.

NAME VARIANTS
Variants of this name include - Madelina , Madeleine, Magdalen, Magdalena, Magda,
Nicknames include Lene, Maddi, Madie, Maddy, Mala. Marlene in the German version of Mary Magdalen

POPULARITY
This musical name has regained some popularity . It ranked number 60 in 2003 of popular girls names. However in the previous decade it was number 94 on the list. On the 2006 list it is number 71.