girl's name
Maëlle
ma-EL
- Origin Breton
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 38,875
France
#153
2025 births
Maëlle is a girl's name of Breton origin meaning "chief" or "prince," the feminine of Maël. It ranks 153rd in France and is rising, and the diaeresis is doing real work in the spelling.
- Maëlle is a name of Breton origin.
- Peaked in France in 2005, when 1,680 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,684 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1954.
Maëlle over time
Births per decade in France, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 5 |
| 1960s | 15 |
| 1970s | 465 |
| 1980s | 2,220 |
| 1990s | 6,100 |
| 2000s | 14,940 |
| 2010s | 9,305 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,030 |
What Maëlle means
Maëlle means chief, prince or lord, from the Breton mael. The word denotes rank, and the feminine ending does not soften it — the same authority is being described, applied to a woman.
Where Maëlle comes from
Maëlle is the Breton feminine of Maël, from the Old Breton mael, a chief or prince. Saint Maël was a fifth-century Breton hermit, and the element also appears in Welsh Maelgwn and in the Irish and Scottish mael, meaning a devotee or a tonsured servant — as in Máel Sechnaill and Malcolm, which is Máel Coluim, servant of Columba. Maëlle and Maëlys are both twentieth-century formations rather than inherited medieval names, and both became possible only after 1966, when French law was liberalized to permit regional names that registrars had previously been able to refuse. The diaeresis marks the a and e as separately pronounced, so the name is two syllables and not one; dropping it changes the reading entirely.
Maëlle in use
Maëlle ranks 153rd in France with about 365 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2005. Our records carry it from 1954, earlier than Maëlys, which suggests this feminine came first. It is rare elsewhere at 2,817th in the United States and 3,664th in England and Wales — the diaeresis gives non-French readers no way in.
How popular is Maëlle?
In 2025, Maëlle was given to 350 babies in France, ranking #153 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Maëlle is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Maëlle is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Maelle | Maelle is a spelling of Maëlle, used in the United States, where it ranks #2,817. | 27,130 |
Names that peaked alongside Maëlle
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maëlle also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maëlle over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Maëlle in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Maëlle
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maëlle — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maëlle
What does the name Maëlle mean?
Maëlle means "chief" or "prince," from the Breton mael.
How do you pronounce Maëlle?
ma-EL, two syllables. The diaeresis marks the a and e as separately sounded.
Is Maëlle related to Malcolm?
Distantly — Malcolm is Máel Coluim, servant of Columba, using the Gaelic cousin of the same element.
How popular is Maëlle?
153rd in France, where it is rising.
Is Maëlle a girl's or a boy's name?
Maëlle is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Maëlle a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maëlle currently ranks #153 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.