Madelon

Actually, this name is medieval French in origin. [noted -ed] It is a diminutive of Madeleine, as it contains the French diminutive suffix -on:

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- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-on#French (in English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diminutives_by_language#French (in English)

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Also see the entry for Marion (1) in the main database, which contains the same diminutive suffix.

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Madelon was sometimes also used on men, as in the case of the French writer Madelon Jarry (died in 1573). Presumably in such cases, it was a diminutive of masculine names that contain the Germanic element MATHAL (see page 1111 of "Altdeutsches Namenbuch" written by Ernst Förstemann).

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- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelon_Jarry (in French)

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The name Madelon was imported to the Netherlands in the late 19th century. It was rare at first and remained that way until World War II, during which it suddenly rose in popularity. Gradually it became more and more popular, eventually reaching the height of its popularity in 1987.

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- https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/is/Madelon (in Dutch; mentions the French origin under "Verklaring")
- http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Madelon&sort=beldesc (in Dutch; shows the prevalence of the name in Belgium in 2009)

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For additional information, please see:

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- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelon (in French)
- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_(pr%C3%A9nom) (in French)
- see page 303 of "Tous les prénoms" written by Jean-Maurice Barbé: https://books.google.de/books?id=GVywRpgGmE4C&pg=PA303 (in French)
- https://www.jacqueslamoureux.ca/femmesm.html (in French)