Madison
Madison Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity
MAD-ih-sun
Meaning of Madison: Madison derives from the Old English surname Madyson or Maddison, a patronymic meaning son of Maud or son of Matthew. The medieval English name Maud descended from the Germanic Mahthildis (Matilda)—combining maht (strength) and hild (battle).
Therefore, Madison ultimately traces to the same Germanic strength-battle compound that produced Matilda and Maud.
As an English surname, Madison appears in records from the 14th century. US President James Madison (1751–1836) gave his name to Madison, Wisconsin and Madison Avenue in New York.
What Does Madison Mean? Origin & Etymology
According to SSA records, Madison was given almost exclusively to boys before 1985 and barely appeared as a girls’ name before that year.
According to SSA records, Madison entered the girls’ top 100 in 1985—one year after the 1984 film Splash, in which a mermaid character chose Madison as her name from a New York street sign.
By 2001, Madison ranked #2 for girls with over 22,000 births that year. As of 2024, it ranks #46 with 4,563 registered births—reflecting a natural decline from its extraordinary peak.
The Splash phenomenon is one of the most documented single-film influences in SSA naming history. Linguist Cleveland Evans has written extensively about Madison’s meteoric rise, noting it as a textbook case of how a cultural moment can transform an unusual surname into a mainstream given name within a single generation.
Notably, no major celebrity or public figure named Madison emerged to sustain the trend independently.
Variants include Madisyn and Madyson (phonetic spellings), Addison (phonetically similar surname), and the medieval source Matilda. Nicknames Maddie and Maddy are used interchangeably. Madison now ranks far higher for girls than boys—a near-complete gender switch driven by a single film.
How Popular Is Madison?
Numerology & Symbolism of Madison
Based on Pythagorean numerology — a traditional system linking name letters to numbers. Presented for cultural interest.
Madison – Similar Names & Alternatives
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Frequently Asked Questions about Madison
What does the name Madison mean?
Madison means son of Maud or son of Matthew, from the Old English patronymic surname Maddison. The medieval name Maud derived from Germanic Mahthildis, combining maht (strength) and hild (battle)—making Madison ultimately a strength-and-battle compound.
Where does the name Madison come from?
Madison comes from an English patronymic surname meaning son of Maud. It entered use as a girls’ given name in 1984 after the film Splash, in which a mermaid character chose the name from a New York street sign. SSA records confirm the precise timing of the surge.
How popular is Madison in the US?
Madison ranks #46 for girls in the US in 2024, according to SSA records, with 4,563 registered births. It peaked at rank #2 in 2001 with over 22,000 births—one of the largest single-name birth counts in modern SSA history. Its decline from that peak is natural and expected.
What are spelling variants of Madison?
Why did Madison become a girls’ name?
Madison became a girls’ name almost overnight due to the 1984 film Splash, where a mermaid chooses the name from a street sign. SSA records show the girls’ ranking went from nonexistent in 1983 to top 100 in 1985—one of the fastest gender switches in American naming history.