Maudlin Family History

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.