Madison

English

"son of Matthew"

Madison Origin and Meaning

The name Madison is a girl's name of English origin meaning "son of Matthew".

Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a mermaid named Madison in the 1980s movie Splash.

Madison originated as an English surname, a variant of Mathieson, meaning "son of Matthew." It is occasionally translated as "son of Maud," as Maddy was historically a nickname for Maud. It was introduced as a feminine given name when the mermaid character in Splash takes her name from a street sign on New York’s Madison Avenue..

Madison ranked in the Top 10 for nearly 20 years, from the late 1990s until 2015, and has been on a gradual decline since then. But there are still more than 5000 baby girls named Madison in the US each year (along with a few dozen baby boys).

Madison’s longtime popularity can be credited to its connection to several of the hottest naming trends of the 21st century so far. It’s a place name, the capital of Wisconsin, ala Savannah and Sienna. It’s also a surname with an Old Money veneer in the vein of Addison and Emerson that feels gender-neutral even if it’s not.

And it may have felt like a fresh way to get to the popular nickname Maddie or Maddy, though the classic Madelyn may have more staying power.

Madison Rank in US Top 1000

# 36 in the US

Madison Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 370 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Madison

• 36 US 2023
• 370 Nameberry 2025
• 54 Canada 2023
• 177 England 2023
• 182 Scotland 2023
• 98 Ireland 2017
• 65 Australia 2018
• 67 New Zealand 2024
• 329 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Madison

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Madison.

• Hailey
• Zoey
• Mackenzie
• Taylor
• Savannah
• Brooke
• Brooklyn
• Maddison
• Hayley
• Sydney
• Kylie
• Shaylyn
• Madilyn
• Lexie
• Kaylee
• Madelyn
• Keegen
• Ashlynn
• Alexis
• Bailey

Famous People Named Madison

• Madison Nicole "Maddie" Ziegler American actress and dancer on TV's "Dance Moms".
• Madison Elle Beer American singer.
• Madison Michelle Pettis American actress.
• Madison Rose De La Garza American actress.
• Madison Carabello American actress; twin of Miranda Carabello.
• Madison Hubbell American ice dancer.
• Madison Chock American ice dancer.
• Madison McLaughlin American actress.
• Madison Rayne ring name of Ashley Nichole Cabot, American pro wrestler.
• Madison Hu American actress.
• Madison Brengle American tennis player.
• Madison Keys American tennis player.
• Madison Danielle Davenport American actress.
• Madison McReynolds American actress.
• (Jessica) Madison Wright Morris American actress
• Madison Lintz American actress
• Madison Wilson Australian swimmer.
• Madison Taylor Kocian American gymnast.
• Madison Bailey American actress
• Madison Justice sister of American actress Victoria Justice.
• Madison Cross (b. 1992) American singer; daughter of singer Christopher Cross.
• Madison Clapp (b. 1996) daughter of actor/TV personality Johnny Knoxville.
• Madison "Maddie" Brown (b. 1997) daughter of reality TV's Kody & Jenelle Brown ("Sister Wives").
• Madison Alani Anoa'i (b. 2003) daughter of wrestler Rosey.
• Madison Elizabeth McMahon (b. 2000) daughter of actor Julian McMahon and model Brooke Burns.
• Madison Mychal Quick (b. 2010) daughter of ice hockey player Jonathan Quick.
• Madison Brown Belafonte (b. 2011) daughter of Spice Girl Melanie Brown and Stephen Belafonte.
• Madison Mary Harper McGrath (b. 2015) daughter of cricketer Glenn McGrath.
• Sadie Madison Sandler (b. 2006) daughter of actor Adam Sandler and Jacqueline Titone.
• Violet Madison Nash (b. 2010) daughter of actress Christina Milian and rapper The Dream.

The name Madison in Pop Culture

• Madison self,named mermaid in film "Splash"
• Madison North (Beardsley) character on American soap "All My Children"
• Madison the Magic Show Fairy character in the Rainbow Magic series
• Madison Montgomery character on TV's "American Horror Story: Coven"
• Madison Clark main character on TV's "Fear the Walking Dead"
• Madison 'Maddie' Rooney character on TV's "Liv and Maddie"
• Madison Rocca Blue Ranger on TV's "Power Rangers Mystic Force"
• Madison Duarte character on TV's "South of Nowhere"
• Madison Taylor aka Tomoyo Daidouji character in anime "Cardcaptor Sakura"
• Madison Paige character in video game "Heavy Rain"
• Madison Sinclair minor character on TV's "Veronica Mars"
• Madison McCarthy cheerleader on TV's "Glee;" twin of Mason McCarthy
• Madison Finn title character in "From The Files of Madison Finn" by Laura Dower
• Madison VanWatson character in "The Sims 3" computer game
• Madison "Maddie" Young character in film "Hush"
• Madison Payne a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "Welcome To The Wayne"
• Madison character in film "A Cinderella Story"