Magdalena

What Magdalena means

Variant of Magdalene, meaning “woman from Magdala”

variant of Magdalene || From Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ, “woman from Magdala”), byname of the biblical Mary Magdalene, "Mary of Magdala ", from Μαγδαλά (Magdalá), the name of a village on Lake Galilee (the name of which derives from Hebrew מגדל (migdál, “t

Source: Wiktionary, “Magdalena” (revision 93942875) and “Magdalene” (revision 94541411), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Magdalena?

US: Rising: up from #1095 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #1033 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1882, when 33 girls got the name (#306 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 5,023 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 11,012 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in IA (0.68 per 1,000 girls), IL (0.43 per 1,000 girls), KS (0.42 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Magdalena is #849 in the US and #1362 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Magdalena were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

If you like Magdalena

Girls

• Celine#207“heaven”^*
• Sage#160“sedge”^*
• Hallie#120Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #565 in 2015, #120 in 2025
• Miriam#246possibly “bitter”^*
• Celeste#188“heavenly”^*
• Josie#82Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #250 in 2015, #82 in 2025

For a brother

• Ismael#263Form of Ishmael, meaning “God hears, God will hear”^*
• Walker#78Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #340 in 2015, #78 in 2025
• Callahan#227Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,804 in 2015, #227 in 2025
• Emilio#154Spanish and Italian, meaning “rival”^*
• Tate#193Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #420 in 2015, #193 in 2025
• Koa#269Hawaiian, meaning “warrior, courage; koa tree”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Magdalena’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.