I'm happy you're asking about this name! I'm not from an English speaking country. I've been wondering what the original pronunciation of this name is. On this board many people seem to favor Mad-uh-line. But I've never heard this pronunciation in real life. I have known a few American
Madeline (I'm sure of the spelling, they weren't Madelyns) and they all pronounced it with a -lynn ending. I know that in the
Madeline movie it's Mad-uh-line but that is the only time I have come across that pronunciation.
I was looking at its origin and it seems to be the English variant of
Magdalene.
Magdalene is usually mag-da-len in English as far as I know which is closer to the mad-uh-lyn pronunciation of
Madeline. So I wonder whether that is the original pronunciation? I have no idea! I know
Caroline is -line but
Evangeline is -leen and
Emmeline seems to be -line but also -leen sometimes, it's so confusing, can anyone explain this? What is the original pronunciation?
Now let me answer your questions :) I like
Madeline very much. I also love
Madeleine. I have known three American Madelines and met several others. They all pronounced it -lyn so that is the pronunciation I'm used to. One of them had
Rose as her middle name. I always loved that combo even though I guess it's pretty standard and not very exciting.
Madeleine seems to be used in more countries than
Madeline. I know an American and an English
Madeleine (both pronounce it -lyn) as well as a few French Madeleines who are all a bit older (I'm French and it is a bit old fashioned in
France but might make a comeback soon, I think it's lovely!) but they use the French pronunciation in which the last syllable sounds more like -len than -lyn. I also know an Austrian
Madeleine and a Swedish
Madeleine. There's also a Swedish princess who bears this name. It's very classic. One thing I dislike about
Madeline etc. is the nickname
Maddie. I prefer the full form.