Frequency: (338)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English: from the Middle English vernacular form, Maudeleyn, of the New Testament Greek personal name Magdalēnē. This is a byname, meaning ‘woman from Magdala’ (a village on the Sea of Galilee, deriving its name from Hebrew migdal ‘tower’), denoting the woman cured of evil spirits by Jesus (Luke 8:2), who later became a faithful follower. In Christian folk belief she was generally identified with the repentant sinner who washed Christ's feet with her tears in Luke 7; hence the name came to be used as a byname for a prostitute, also a tearful woman. The popularity of the personal name increased with the supposed discovery of her relics in the 13th century.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
