Dream name Magdalene - but living in Cambridge!

[cambridgecoral]

We decided on our name for our new DD - Magdalene.
It's perfect - works well with our surname and the name of DS. I'm totally enamoured with it!

But I suddenly realised today - we live in Cambridge.
One of the most well-known university colleges here is MAGDALENE COLLEGE!

Arghhhhhhhh!
Is this the worst choice of name? Are we going to look a bit ridiculous if we name her Magdalene?
Is there some variation which would be better?
I'm pretty devastated with this realisation, but worried my bias will push me to go ahead, and we'll end up regretting it later.
What do you think?
Arghhh! 😫

@Thepowerhouseofthecell , but she wasn't one.

Magdalena is top of my girls names list.
I'd never heard of the laundries.
I love Mary Magdalene.

Beautiful name.
Lovely homage to Cambridge.
Don't overthink. Just go with what you love.

I love this name, it was on my baby name list when I was a child. The main association is Mary I think. I don't think the laundries are a terribly relevant association in Cambridge, and I just wouldn't worry about the college. Unusual or comment-worthy names cease to be either of those things after the first time someone hears your name.

I don't really see the name and the laundries as inextricably linked.

Nor do I. And nor will most people, babyname MNetters do love to be dramatic though.

OP go with a name you love, always.

I wouldn’t because of the “maudlin” pronunciation of the Cambridge college (but maybe most people completely oblivious to this?!). You do live in Cambridge however…

I was at Magdalen with a girl called Magdalena! Nobody thought it was odd AFAIK. I think it's strange that people are insisting that Magdalene has negative connotations, when all popular saints' names will at some point have been.given to people or institutions that you would probably not view positively. It's a perfectly fine name.

I don’t understand. Are you saying that you would use the ‘maudlin’ pronunciation even though you have learnt from this thread that it is incorrect for the given name?

How about Magdalena? Lovely name and makes a slight distinction. Pronounced Mag-da-layna.

The Irish launderies are pronounced Magdaylayna the college Maudlin obviously but the traditional spelling for the girls name is Madeleine.

I would go for Madeleine with the traditional spelling nobody is likely to get confused.

I like the name. I've never heard of the college or laundries though, I just think it's pretty.

@Sago1 , It's a biblical name and the spelling varies between countries. You are saying that the French spelling is the French spelling.
The traditional spelling of the English name is Magdalene.

edit: You are saying that the French version of the name is the traditional spelling. @Sago1 .

I think the name is of Greek origin. The Latin form of the name is Magdalene.

I’d much rather magdalena (mag-da-layna)
Magdalene can be maudlin, magda-lane or magda-Lin and it’s got the laundries issue. Magdalena has none of those issues.

The Magdalene laundries are pronounced Mag-de-lin, whereas the name Magdalena is pronounced Magdalayna

I once knew a Virginia who lived in Virginia, so this wouldn't seem all that odd to me. When I lived in Cambridge we didn't really have anything to do with the university (we all went further afield for degrees as it is no fun to study where you have grown up) and I wouldn't have even made the connection/ remembered the college name. Our local church is Mary Magdalene Church, so that's where my mind would go, but not in a negative way. It's a pretty name.

Could be worse, I know a Magdalene that lives near where one of the laundries used to be 😬

This, if she ever travels in Ireland or Europe her name has horrific connections.