Mumsnet Talk

Madeleine is the polar opposite to Madison and is beautiful and classy.

I prefer the sound of Madeleine to Madeline (mad-e-lyne).
But I really don't like the nickname Maddie - sounds like someone who is Mad!

I have a Madeleine, aged 5 (and three quarters!) She is very rarely called anything but Madeleine. Occasionally Madsy

We have one spelt Madeleine aged 3.6 and only ever get positive comments on it. We call her Maddie/Madeleine about 50/50 really. I really don't like Madison much and for that reason I usually call her by her full name when we're out and about! In our Yorkshire accent it's pronounced a bit more like Mad-uh-lin.

I also know a Maddalena which I think is really nice, but it would probably depend on your surname a bit more.

I had a great aunt whose name was Madelaine she always got called Lena.
My grandmother had a friend called Madelaine.Now this name has ''come back'' I love it even more.

I don't know a single Madeleline/Madeline but I know at least a dozen Madisons! Much prefer Madeline.

Never had anyone assume my Maddie is short for Madison. That name wasn't really on the radar nearly 16 years ago round these parts.

I also love Madeleine L'Engle, so that's something

I think of little frech cakes

My 8 yr old is Madeleine. We wanted something that could stand as a classy name when she's an adult, but that we could shorten to something cute as a toddler. She is Maddie. It bugs me so much that people assume that is short for Madison. I mean wtf? What the heck is Madison?? Madeleine is an ages old French name, way classier. I say go for it. We holidayed just across the road from the McCann's appartment the year before their tragedy, and it affected me greatly, but I don't think this is a reason not to go with Madeleine if you love it. It never affected anyone named Ben...

My 8 yr old is Madeleine. We wanted something that could stand as a classy name when she's an adult, but that we could shorten to something cute as a toddler. She is Maddie. It bugs me so much that people assume that is short for Madison. I mean wtf? What the heck is Madison?? Madeleine is an ages old French name, way classier. I say go for it. We holidayed just across the road from the McCann's appartment the year before their tragedy, and it affected me greatly, but I don't think this is a reason not to go with Madeleine if you love it. It never affected anyone named Ben...

P.S. Madeleine Albright, what a role model!

My experience is that people are impressed when you explain Maddie is short for Madeleine, not Madison. Sooooo many Madisons around.

P.P.S. A wonderful excuse to eat a delicious cake at every possible opportunity.

I immediately think of Madeleine McCann, sorry!

I love it, but might be biased!

I've only come across one or two others in 5 years.

And only one person (with special needs) has mentioned Madeleine McCann.

Spell it Madeleine, I implore you!

Actually, it reminds me of Paris, which is a lovely association.

And don't get me started on the spelling variations.

Stick with Madeleine and you won't go far wrong.

Madeleine gets pronounced:

Mad-a-len (French)
Mad-a-linn (usual)
Mad-a-leen (Irish)
Mad-a-line (those who've seen the TV show of the book)

and that's just my DD!

Is there a lot of difference between Madeleine and Madeline in pronunciation?

I only know one Madeleine (possibly due to a decline in popularity in the UK because of Madeleine McCann). She is eight so would have been born long before MM went missing but when she was introduced to me as Madeleine, Madeleine McCann didn't actually enter my head.

I think it's a nice name .

Lovely lovely name. Would have been near the top of my list but 2 friends already used it.

Especially Hilda.

Arf at nappy addict's massive list of alternatives.

None a patch on Madeleine IMHO.

I think it's a lovely name. Nicer than Madison imo.

I find the McCann association totally bizarre though. It would never occur to me to connect the name with her, I know loads of Madeleines so I don't think of any connection at all when I hear it.

It's not like everybody thinks of Sarah Payne when they hear the name Sarah or James Bulger when they hear the name James. Etc etc. Yet any time the name Madeleine is mentioned McCann always comes up. I really don't get it. It's not much rarer than those two.

If you're in America the Madeleine McCann reference is irrelevant.

It is a beautiful name. I only know one, who is 9.