FastNamesMadison
English and Hebrew name meaning "English patronymic surname transferred to given name use, meaning 'son of Maud' (from Matilda, Germanic 'battle-mighty') or 'son of Matthew' (Hebrew 'gift of God').". Ranked 40th for girls in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Madison
English patronymic surname transferred to given name use, meaning 'son of Maud' (from Matilda, Germanic 'battle-mighty') or 'son of Matthew' (Hebrew 'gift of God').
Linguistically, Madison is classified under English and Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "MAD-ih-suhn".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Madison has been given to a total of 419,806 girls. It has also been given to 7,869 boys.
Peak year: Madison reached its highest relative share among girls in 2001, when 22,166 babies received the name (12,310 per million births).
All-time best rank: 2nd place, first achieved in 2001.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 40th with 4,945 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 11th (down 29 spots).
Busiest decade: More girls were named Madison in the 2000s than in any other decade (193,222 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 16 |
| 1980s | 3,794 |
| 1990s | 91,907 |
| 2000s | 193,222 |
| 2010s | 98,438 |
| 2020s | 32,429 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Madison is most common in the US
Accounting for when Madison was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Wyoming: 2.1 times the national rate (740 births since 1910).
- Montana: 1.9 times the national rate (1,574 births since 1910).
- West Virginia: 1.8 times the national rate (3,560 births since 1910).
- North Dakota: 1.8 times the national rate (1,393 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.7 times the national rate (736 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Madison?
About 416,000 living American girls and women share the name Madison. Additionally, an estimated 5,300 living American boys and men share the name.
The median age of an American named Madison is 21 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Madison
Madison originated in northern England as a patronymic surname, recorded in fourteenth-century Yorkshire and Durham subsidy rolls as Maddison, meaning 'son of Maddy'. The medieval pet name Maddy was used primarily for Maud (a vernacular Anglo-Norman form of the Germanic name Matilda) and occasionally for Matthew.
The surname achieved historic prominence in the United States through James Madison (1751–1836), Father of the Constitution and fourth U.S. President. His legacy inspired widespread geographical naming, including the capital city of Wisconsin and Manhattan's renowned Madison Avenue, which became synonymous with the American advertising industry.
As a feminine given name, Madison staged one of the most iconic pop-culture ascents in American naming history. Rarely bestowed on girls before the 1984 fantasy comedy film Splash (in which Daryl Hannah's mermaid character adopts the name after seeing a Madison Avenue street sign), Madison surged into the national top ten by 1997 and reached rank 2 in 2001 and 2002 with over 22,000 newborn girls per year.
Notable people named Madison
- Madison Bumgarner (1989–), American Major League Baseball pitcher and World Series MVP
- Madison Beer (1999–), American singer and songwriter
- Madison Bailey (1999–), American actress
- Madison Hubbell (1991–), American Olympic ice dancer and medalist
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 180.
- P.H. Reaney, R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (1997), p. 294.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 204.