Magdalena
Magdalena was given to 320 girls in 2025, #850 among girls’ names; 19,783 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 15,600 Americans named Magdalena and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (79% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 15 and 51.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Magdalena by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Magdalena mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Magdalena is “a female given name, variant of Magdalene.”
Borrowed from Spanish Magdalena. Doublet of Magdalene and Madeline.
/mæɡdəˈlɛnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Magdalena?
#850 among girls’ names, 2025
Magdalena rose from #1,099 in 2015 to #850 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.13 to 0.20 per 1,000.
325 babies in 2007, the peak
Magdalena peaked in 2007, when 325 girls were given it, #864 among girls’ names. The 320 births of 2025 are 98% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 320 | #850 | 0.20 |
| 2024 | 323 | #838 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 296 | #904 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 301 | #912 | 0.18 |
| 2021 | 276 | #952 | 0.17 |
| 2020 | 256 | #998 | 0.16 |
| 2019 | 274 | #964 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 246 | #1,046 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 279 | #950 | 0.16 |
| 2016 | 263 | #1,007 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 236 | #1,099 | 0.13 |
| 2014 | 274 | #975 | 0.15 |
| 2013 | 215 | #1,128 | 0.12 |
| 2012 | 216 | #1,143 | 0.12 |
| 2011 | 214 | #1,147 | 0.12 |
| 2010 | 230 | #1,086 | 0.13 |
| 2009 | 271 | #981 | 0.15 |
| 2008 | 310 | #896 | 0.16 |
| 2007 | 325 | #864 | 0.17 |
| 2006 | 295 | #900 | 0.16 |
| 2005 | 321 | #807 | 0.17 |
| 2004 | 312 | #806 | 0.17 |
| 2003 | 264 | #906 | 0.14 |
| 2002 | 229 | #968 | 0.13 |
| 2001 | 270 | #848 | 0.15 |
| 2000 | 245 | #895 | 0.13 |
| 1999 | 242 | #884 | 0.14 |
| 1998 | 263 | #811 | 0.15 |
| 1997 | 288 | #742 | 0.17 |
| 1996 | 250 | #814 | 0.14 |
| 1995 | 263 | #767 | 0.15 |
| 1994 | 262 | #779 | 0.15 |
| 1993 | 269 | #767 | 0.15 |
| 1992 | 219 | #895 | 0.12 |
| 1991 | 192 | #977 | 0.10 |
| 1990 | 209 | #916 | 0.11 |
| 1989 | 169 | #1,012 | 0.09 |
| 1988 | 168 | #985 | 0.09 |
| 1987 | 170 | #953 | 0.10 |
| 1986 | 196 | #849 | 0.11 |
| 1985 | 141 | #1,053 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 150 | #967 | 0.09 |
| 1983 | 144 | #999 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 195 | #814 | 0.12 |
| 1981 | 168 | #893 | 0.10 |
| 1980 | 167 | #905 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 182 | #855 | 0.11 |
| 1978 | 147 | #952 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 169 | #867 | 0.11 |
| 1976 | 160 | #855 | 0.11 |
| 1975 | 169 | #812 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 156 | #845 | 0.11 |
| 1973 | 165 | #796 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 127 | #960 | 0.08 |
| 1971 | 158 | #858 | 0.09 |
| 1970 | 158 | #855 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 153 | #841 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 117 | #957 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 135 | #879 | 0.08 |
| 1966 | 150 | #814 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 168 | #766 | 0.10 |
| 1964 | 170 | #803 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 158 | #832 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 187 | #762 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 169 | #807 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 165 | #806 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 155 | #824 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 142 | #857 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 125 | #915 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 140 | #840 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 132 | #846 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 122 | #860 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 122 | #838 | 0.06 |
| 1952 | 115 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 140 | #740 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 95 | #913 | 0.06 |
| 1949 | 113 | #828 | 0.07 |
| 1948 | 120 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1947 | 92 | #927 | 0.05 |
| 1946 | 75 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1945 | 62 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 63 | #985 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 81 | #867 | 0.06 |
| 1942 | 64 | #983 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 73 | #855 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 67 | #872 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 60 | #912 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 63 | #897 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 67 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 54 | #934 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 82 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 64 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 85 | #706 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 81 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 93 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 90 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 92 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1928 | 102 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1927 | 112 | #686 | 0.09 |
| 1926 | 86 | #781 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 96 | #755 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 113 | #701 | 0.09 |
| 1923 | 106 | #710 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 80 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 96 | #747 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 84 | #789 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 62 | #899 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 79 | #804 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 68 | #831 | 0.06 |
| 1916 | 85 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 76 | #759 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 56 | #774 | 0.07 |
| 1913 | 49 | #757 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 53 | #694 | 0.09 |
| 1911 | 40 | #693 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 36 | #707 | 0.09 |
| 1909 | 47 | #563 | 0.14 |
| 1908 | 28 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 32 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1906 | 33 | #629 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 32 | #628 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 28 | #663 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 40 | #509 | 0.15 |
| 1902 | 37 | #533 | 0.14 |
| 1901 | 37 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1900 | 32 | #627 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 28 | #590 | 0.12 |
| 1898 | 38 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 29 | #562 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 42 | #450 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 31 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1894 | 46 | #413 | 0.21 |
| 1893 | 58 | #353 | 0.27 |
| 1892 | 26 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1891 | 41 | #392 | 0.22 |
| 1890 | 25 | #532 | 0.13 |
| 1889 | 37 | #403 | 0.21 |
| 1888 | 41 | #379 | 0.23 |
| 1887 | 26 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 40 | #341 | 0.28 |
| 1885 | 32 | #360 | 0.24 |
| 1884 | 31 | #363 | 0.24 |
| 1883 | 27 | #350 | 0.24 |
| 1882 | 33 | #311 | 0.31 |
| 1881 | 20 | #380 | 0.22 |
| 1880 | 19 | #383 | 0.21 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Magdalena a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Magdalena has been given almost only to girls: 10 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Magdalena: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Magdalena, and how old are they?
15,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 79% of the 19,783 Americans ever recorded as Magdalena. The median Magdalena alive today is 29 years old; half are between 15 and 51.
The 2020 Census counted 34,074 people named Magdalena (33,979 women and girls, 95 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 14,408 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.4 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 368 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,090 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,250 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,540 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Magdalena born?
The states with the most babies named Magdalena are Texas, California and New York, with 32% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 36 | #832 | 2.6× |
| California | 34 | #870 | 1.9× |
| New York | 19 | #847 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 19 | #535 | 1.3× |
| Florida | 17 | #941 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | #636 | 0.3× |
| Washington | 12 | #565 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 10 | #934 | 0.3× |
| Indiana | 9 | #697 | 0.3× |
| Iowa | 8 | #418 | 0.1× |
Where Magdalena is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Magdalena is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 2.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Magdalena with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 31,798 babies since 1880, Magdalena is the most given (62% of them). In 2025 it was given to 320 of their 485 babies (66%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Magdalena
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Magdalena and names like it
- Compare Magdalena and MagdaleneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sMagdalena peaked in 2007.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Magdalena since 1910.
- The top names of 2007The year the most babies were named Magdalena.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Magdalena alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with MMost given first.