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Opinions on Madeleine

LynnBrown4LynnBrown4 member
in Baby Names
Thinking about naming our daughter Madeleine. We are a francophone family but live and work in a context where a lot of English is spoken.  
1. How would you pronounce this name in English? (Madeline?)
2. Looking for a nickname other than 'Maddy' or 'Mado'. I don't mind 'Milly/Mili'... any other suggestions? Would be great if they worked in both English and French, but that might be asking a lot. Thanks!
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Re: Opinions on Madeleine

  • nanner26nanner26 member
    The way it's spelled I would probably pronounce it "Mad-eh-leen"? But that could be completely wrong.  

    NNs: Addy, Matty

    Depending on how you say the ending: Lynn, or Lena
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  • MamaWren919MamaWren919 member
    I would pronounce it Mad-uh-line, but wouldn't be surprised if you said Mad-uh-lynn. It's too common for me and has become boring, honestly. I think Maddie is the expected nickname. I like Millie, but think it's a stretch.
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  • NME44NME44 member
    Mad-uh-line, but I think you'll get mad-uh-lynn as well. I think Madeline is a beautiful name. I personally wouldn't nn it.
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  • BringmemylongswordhoBringmemylongswordho member
    Leen. 

    It will probably get a lot of lines or Lynn's though. 
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  • SeñoritaSeñorita member
    My daughter's name is Madeleine and we pronounce it Mad-eh-lynn. She is 4 now, and honestly we have had very few issues with other people mispronouncing it. We don't use any nicknames and everyone we've encountered has been very respectful of calling her by her complete name. Obviously, I think it's a really pretty name and I love the traditional French spelling. 
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  • KaLikeAWindKaLikeAWind member
    Mad-eh (or 'uh', I'm having a hard time deciding which letters to use, it's really similar. To my pronunciation, anyway) -line.

    For a nn you could use Lynn, Lini ("lynn-ee"), or I know a gal whose daughter is Madelyn, and they use what sounds like "Dee-Lee" (some kind of shortened, cutesy short form of Maddie Lee, which I guess was the original working nick name). Nick names are organic. If you don't want to use Maddie, I'm sure you'll stumble across something. 
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  • MrsCFBMrsCFB member
    Mad-uh-line (rhymes with "fine").
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  • JoelandmissyJoelandmissy member
    Madeleine said like mad-uh-leen 
    nn: Leeny, Lena, or Lainey (but that would be a stretch)
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  • lm45678lm45678 member
    Mad-uh-lyn

    I would just call her Madeleine if you don't like the nicknames. I have a friend who only goes by Madeleine and it never struck me as odd.
    Me (31) & DH (32)
    Married 9/27/2014
    DD Born 6/23/16
    Baby #2 Due 3/7/20
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  • LynnBrown4LynnBrown4 member
    Thanks for all the responses! It looks like 'Madeleine' could be pronounced many different ways in English. I don't really mind how people will pronounce it, they all sound fine to me, but was just curious. (In French it's Mad-LEN). Thanks also for the nickname suggestions, many of which are really creative, and I never would have thought of! 
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  • delujm0delujm0 member
    Love the name and would pronounce as "lynn."  DH and I both like the full name but really hate Maddie and are afraid there would be no avoiding it so we took it off our list.
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  • LotteHorseLoveLotteHorseLove member
    I have a daughter named Madeline pronounced LINE. For Madeleine I would pronounce it LEN like the French. Our Madeline gets the LEN/LYN pronunciation often so I do have to correct people. We chose the Madeline spelling because we wanted the LINE pronunciation. It is one of those names that has multiple acceptable pronunciations so just know you will have to correct some people. 

    As as far as nicknames go, we wanted to avoid Maddie so we call her by her full name mostly. The close family has a couple nicknames for her which are Mädel (a nod to our German roots) and MC (her initials for Madeline Claire). I have toyed with the idea of Maddie Claire as a nickname but it hasn't really felt right. My husband and I call her Little B or just B a lot because that's what we called her while I was pregnant. So the nickname can be something totally unrelated too.
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  • queenbonequeenbone member
    I'd pronounce it -leen or -lyn with that spelling.
    Married 9-4-04

    ***PM me for my IF history***

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  • magsugar13magsugar13 member
    Overused no matter how you say it
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  • neverblushedneverblushed member
    Most people where I live (Washington, DC suburbs) would pronounce that name as follows:  MAD-uh-lynn.

    It's a pretty common name for girls born in the last decade.  Many girls go by Maddy/Maddi/Maddie as a nn.

    That being said, this area is pretty cosmopolitan, and it is pretty common for people who live here to have names that are common both in English and another language, and use the pronunciation of the other language.  A really common example would be the Spanish pronunciation of Anna/Ana.  Most people get it after one correction.

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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