Where the Maddalena surname comes from
Maddalena comes from the name of Mary Magdalene, Maria Maddalena in Italian, the disciple of Jesus. In the Gospels she is called “Mary the Magdalene.” According to the most accepted explanation, it means “Mary of Magdala,” a small town on the Sea of Galilee.
Out of devotion to the saint, the name became very common in the Middle Ages. The surname could point to a family linked to a woman named Maddalena, or to a place or a church dedicated to her.
The aviator of the red tent
In 1928 an Italian airship crashed on the Arctic ice. The man who found the survivors was a seaplane pilot born in the Polesine, and his name was Maddalena. The PDF tells how he did it, along with the many places called Maddalena scattered across the map of Italy.
Where the Maddalenas live today
Maddalena is a surname spread all over Italy, without a real center. In Italy there are about 1,050 families. The regions with the most families are Campania, Apulia and the Veneto, almost evenly. The town where it is strongest is Villaverla, north of Vicenza, where it is the second most common surname. About four Maddalenas out of ten live outside Italy today. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The surname has two minor forms, much rarer, born in other parts of Italy. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Maddalena | Campania, Apulia, Veneto |
| Della Maddalena | Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto |
| Maddaleni | Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria |
FAQ
What does the surname Maddalena mean?
It comes from the name of Mary Magdalene, which according to the most accepted explanation means “of Magdala,” a town in Galilee. The name became very common in the Middle Ages out of devotion to the saint, and the surname was born from it.
Is Maddalena a northern or a southern surname?
Both. The regions with the most families are Campania, Apulia and the Veneto, almost evenly. Lombardy and Lazio are close behind. The surname has no real region of origin.
Are Maddalena and Della Maddalena the same surname?
They have the same origin, the name of the saint. Della Maddalena is a rare form, mostly from Lombardy. In the archives the same family can appear as Maddalena, Madalena or Della Maddalena.
Are all Maddalenas related?
No. The name Maddalena was common all over Italy, as were places dedicated to the saint: two Maddalena families almost always have no ties to each other. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Maddalena surname noble?
The surname itself does not mean nobility. It comes from the name of a much-venerated saint, and most Maddalena families never had a coat of arms.
Is there a Maddalena family coat of arms?
There is no coat of arms that belongs to every Maddalena. The surname was born as many times as there were women and places called Maddalena, so there is no single founder.
