Magdalena

‘Woman from Magdala’.

Magdalena means ‘woman from Magdala’, the place associated with Mary Magdalene in Christian tradition. Its path through Greek and Latin explains the form, while the Aramaic place name supplies the deeper connection to ‘tower’. The name itself identifies a place of origin. There is a pleasing contrast between the consonants at the start and the more open -lena ending. In the German pronunciation shown here, four syllables give the full name room to unfold, with the emphasis near the end. To our ear, this makes Magdalena elegant and substantial: a good possibility for someone drawn to a fully expressed name with a clear traditional association.

Etymology: Magdalena is a Latin form of Greek Magdalene, an expression of origin from Magdala. The place name is connected with the Aramaic word for ‘tower’; that is a deeper layer, rather than the direct meaning of the personal name.