Used to be one of my faves, but it got so popular. Now its popularity seems to be quickly going down however, and I might be able to use it when I have children in about 10 years.
I pronounce it MAD-eh-lyn, simply because that is the English pronunciation to me. I pronounce
Madeleine and
Madelyn the same in English, but differently in French (
Madeline and
Madeleine that is).
I'm not good at explaining pronunciations, but in French I pronounce them mahd-eh-LEEN (
Madeline) and mahd-eh-LENN (
Madeleine), but you usually don't hear the -eh, because you say it fast. So it's mahd-LEEN and mahd-LENN. Same with
Catherine which is kah-TREEN because the second syllable is so short you don't hear it.
Anyway in an English speaking country I'd go with MAD-eh-lyn, I find MAD-eh-line pretentious.
Would people always spell it
Madelyn? Would they call her
Maddy? I dislike
Maddy and especially
Madelyn.
Still too common? Opinions? How many do you know? Do any go by their full names?