girl's name
Maddison
MAD-i-son
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 43,594
the United States
#438
2025 births
Maddison is a girl's name of English origin meaning "son of Maud." It is a respelling of Madison, a surname built on a woman's name — and it became a girls' name because of one scene in a 1984 film.
- Maddison is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2009, when 1,167 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,716 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1985.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Maddison over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1980s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1980s | 182 |
| 1990s | 3,278 |
| 2000s | 7,457 |
| 2010s | 9,335 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,864 |
What Maddison means
Maddison means son of Maud, and Maud is the medieval English form of Matilda — mighty in battle. A competing reading gives son of Matthew, gift of God.
Where Maddison comes from
Maddison respells Madison, an English patronymic from Maddy, the pet form of Maud, itself the worn-down medieval English form of Matilda. That makes it one of the few surnames formed from a woman's name rather than a man's. It was a male surname for centuries — James Madison, fourth president of the United States — until the 1984 film Splash, in which a mermaid takes the name from Madison Avenue as a joke about how implausible it would be. The joke failed: the name entered the American girls' top ten within fifteen years.
Maddison in use
Our data shows Maddison stable, peaking in 2009, at 154 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records only in 1985 — the year after Splash — which is about as clean a single-cause origin as our series ever produces. The double-d spelling is distinctly British.
How popular is Maddison?
In 2025, Maddison was given to 703 babies in the United States, ranking #438 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Maddison is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Maddison
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Maddison also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Maddison over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Maddison
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Maddison 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 Maddison
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Maddison — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Maddison
What does the name Maddison mean?
Maddison means "son of Maud," and Maud is the medieval English form of Matilda.
Why did Madison become a girls' name?
The 1984 film Splash, where a mermaid takes the name from Madison Avenue as a joke about how implausible it was. It entered the girls' top ten within fifteen years.
Is Maddison or Madison more common?
Madison is the original and more common spelling. The double-d Maddison is distinctly British.
How popular is the name Maddison?
In 2025, Maddison was given to 703 babies in the United States, ranking #438 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Maddison?
Maddison has 3 syllables.
When was Maddison most popular?
Maddison peaked in 2009, when 1,167 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Maddison?
Maddison is usually shortened to Maddie, Mads and Maddy.
Is Maddison a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Maddison currently ranks #130 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.