Madeline or Madelyn?

[PizzaDel]

Hi, how would you spell this, we want it said Mad-eh-lyn? But would like to stay clear from Madeleine as it's not the English alternative, and I know my family would never spell it like this, if they were just told, so wonder about other people. Mumsnet seem to know and prefer 'original' spellings, but I'd like to use the English version however, would Madeline always get Mad-eh-line? Madelyn is very popular in the US, but not so much the UK, but would it make it easier?

[JessieMcJessie]

Madeline looks like a typo/parent not knowing how to spell and Madelyn looks like an attempt at a Yoonique spelling.

Most people will have no problem spelling it Madeleine and saying "Made-Lin" as that is the accepted English pronounciation. I don't believe that there is an "English spelling".
Sorry.

[PizzaDel]

There is

[PizzaDel]

Also, Adeline is spelt like that...

[JessieMcJessie]

People will all just call her Maddy anyway, whether you like it or not. I noticed that Madeleine McCann's parents never ever refer to her themselves as Maddy but the papers always insist on doing so.

[meowli]

There is a Madeline who is a children's character.

[PizzaDel]

I want to use Maddie as a NN

[TheNaze73]

Madeline would be the way I'd have it spelt & sounds like how you wished it pronounced.
If stear well clear of Madelyn, it's a bit like people called Nicola who call themselves Nikki, to sound exotic and yoonique like Jessie said

[JessieMcJessie]

just because the name is sometimes spelled with that alternative doesn't make it the "the English spelling". It's just a spelling. My point is that many many English people who pronounce it madelyn will spell it Madeleine and will not be telling everyone that they deliberately chose "the French spelling".

[NannyR]

Madeleine is the most used spelling, I think on hearing of a child called mad eh lyn, most people would automatically spell it madeleine, so you might find yourself correcting people a lot if you choose an alternative spelling.
I associate the madeline spelling with the book character and I think that is pronounced mad eh line.

[JessieMcJessie]

The children's character is pronounced mad eh line I believe, think there was a film made of it?

[PizzaDel]

Jessie, maybe it is areas, as I have asked many people, who didn't even realise it was Madeleine in France and they wouldn't spell it like that

[PizzaDel]

Honestly, I just don't like the random e! If you look at other names Adeline, it isn't Adeleine?

[PuppyMonkey]

You spell it Madeleine in English and French though. To me, it's like saying you don't want to call your son Paris, as that's the French spelling - you want to call hime Parriss.

(I have a Madeleine, can you tell? )

[JessieMcJessie]

I'd pronounce Adeline "A de line" though, not "a de lyn"? Like in Bread and Guys and Dolls.

[NannyR]

No, because you pronounce adeline add-a-line, not add-a-lyn.

[PizzaDel]

But that's silly, as Madeleine then shouldn't be used as it isn't actually pronounced Mad-eh-lyn?

[JessieMcJessie]

If you were to ask 100 people "how do you pronounce "Madeleine" as in Madeleine McCann, I am pretty sure that at least 75 of them would say "Mad eh lyn", including her own parents.

[That1950sMum]

If you have to use one of your versions I prefer Madeline, but as far as I'm concerned the correct spelling is Madeleine. I'm not a fan of new fangled spellings for lovely, traditional names.

[RiverTam]

Medeleine is just the right spelling, whether you're French or English. Adeline is pronounced add-eh-line so not the same anyway.

But if you want to do an alternate spelling I'd go for Madelyn, it looks quite nice and you'll get it pronounced how you want it to be.

Oh, and NNs are not inevitable.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I can't help but read Madeline as 'made-line', but I know I'm probably in the minority! I like Madelyn too but again I'm in the minority as that's the 'American' way which is always a very poor choice according to MN

I would pronounce both Madeleine and Madeline as Mad-eh-line (as obviously it would never actually be 'made-line').

The thing is OP, however you spell it, people will pronounce it however you want it pronounced, you should only have to tell them once if they don't get it first time. It's really not hard to remember how a certain person's name is pronounced and people who continue to get it wrong MUST be doing it on purpose, I literally don't understand how it can be hard

[PizzaDel]

But some people spell Adeline as Adelyn, so it has both pronunciations too

[JessieMcJessie]

Never heard the name Adelyn in my life.

[Dieu]

It can really only be Madeleine.

[RiverTam]

Oh, I've never seen or heard to Adelyn. That sounds made up to me, which is fine, though it looks like it should be pronounced aid-lyn, don't know why.

[Pemba]

Ahem .... Madeline is indeed the traditional English spelling, according to my name dictionary. [gavel] At the moment Madeleine, the French spelling, is far more popular though. Sort of like how the French spelling Claire became much more popular than the English spelling of Clare, and so became the default.

Trouble is if you spell it 'Madeline' you will get people saying Made-line to rhyme with wine. Just correct them though, if you really don't want to spell it Madeleine.

Madelyn or similar just looks like traditional, and therefore less classy, unfortunately.