Magdalena

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Магдалина in UA Ukraine, RU Russia, Magdaléna in SK Slovakia, Магдалена in MK North Macedonia and מגדלנה in IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 23 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Magdalena is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name2.2M records spelled Magdalena12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Peru

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Magdaleña, Mágdalena, Magdaléna, Mägdälenä, Magdalèna

• a separate given name33K records spelled Magdalena4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland

  Also written Magdaléna, Magdalēna, Magdalenä

• Indonesian given name31K records spelled Magdalena4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Spain

  Also written Magdalena', 'Magdalena, Magdaléna

• French given name30K records spelled Magdalena5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Spain

  Also written Magdaléna, Magdalèna, Magda-Lena, Magda-Léna

• Swahili given name12K records spelled Magdalena5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, United States

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho, Kinyarwanda

  Also written Magdaléna

• Finnish given name10K records spelled Magdalena4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Sweden, United States, South Africa

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Magda-Lena, Magdaléna

• Romanian given name8.6K records spelled Magdalena3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Romania, Moldova, United States, Spain

  Also written Magdaléna

67 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Magdalena is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Maria Madalena; Mary Magdalen; Ciudad de Mexico

  as a name·Dicionario Sefaradi De SobrenomesDictionary Of Sephardic Surnames Inclusive Cristaos-Novos, Conversos, Marranos, Italianos,…

• In Spanish, Del gentilicio de Magdala, en Galilea; 'la de Magdala'.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

• In English, river, dept., Colombia; island.

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, village, NM

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Pacific

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Anna Magdalena Bachb. 1701DEGerman singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach (1701-1760)
• Faustyna Kowalskab. 1905PLnot in their usual namenun and saint from Poland (1905–1938)
• Frida Kahlob. 1907MXnot in their usual nameMexican painter (1907–1954)
• Sophie Schollb. 1921DEnot in their usual nameGerman resistance fighter during the Nazi regime, member of the White Rose (1921-1943)
• Magdalena Abakanowiczb. 1930PLPolish textile artist and sculptor (1930-2017)
• Romy Schneiderb. 1938ATnot in their usual nameGerman-French actress (1938–1982)
• Magdalena Anderssonb. 1967SEPrime Minister of Sweden from 2021 to 2022, Swedish politician and economist
• Malena Ernmanb. 1970SEnot in their usual nameSwedish opera singer
• Leonor Varelab. 1972CLnot in their usual nameChilean actress
• Magdalena Tulb. 1980PLPolish singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,274 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Magdalena?

We estimate roughly 568 thousand people bear Magdalena (counting its spellings and scripts) across 16 countries in our records.

In which country does Magdalena have the most bearers?

We estimate about 434 thousand people bear Magdalena in Poland, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled magdalena.

Where is Magdalena most common?

Magdalena is densest in Poland, where the national register counts about 1 in 88 people carrying it.

How common is Magdalena compared with other names?

In Poland, Magdalena is the 18th most common given name of 66,904 given names recorded there.

Is Magdalena a male or female name?

Magdalena is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Magdalena mean?

Recorded meaning: a female given name from Latin [in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], equivalent to English Magdalene