Madeleine f
French and English: the French form of the byname of a character in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene ‘Mary of Magdala’. Magdala was a village on Lake Galilee, a few miles north of Tiberias. The woman ‘which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities’ (Luke 8: 2) was given this name in the Bible to distinguish her from other bearers of the very common name MARY (SEE Mary). It was widely accepted in Christian folk belief that she was the same person as the repentant sinner who washed Christ's feet with her tears in the previous chapter (Luke 7), but there is no support in the text for this identification.
Variants: English: Madeline (common esp. in Ireland), Madoline; Madelaine, Madlyn; MAGDALENE (SEE Magdalene).
Cognate: Irish Gaelic: Madailéin.
Pet forms: English: Maddie, Maddy. French: Madelon.
First names dictionary. 2012.