Addison
Meaning
"son of Addy," a medieval pet form of Adam; a scholarly English surname that joined Madison's slipstream in the 2000s as a girls' name. Addie gives it a vintage heart under the modern surname polish
Goes by Addie, Addy
The story
Addison means child of Adam, an English surname built the plain old way, and for centuries it belonged mostly to men: the essayist Joseph Addison helped invent the modern magazine in the early 1700s. As an American first name it stayed in the background, quietly present at most, until everything changed around the turn of the millennium. Between the 1990s and the 2010s, Addison went from an occasional pick to one of the country's most popular girls' names, a climb as steep as any in the modern era. The obvious suspect is television: Grey's Anatomy introduced the formidable Dr. Addison Montgomery in 2005, right as the surge gathered speed, and while we cannot prove the connection, the timing is hard to ignore. The peak came in the 2010s, and though it has settled since, Addison still reads as fresh, polished and boardroom-ready.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Addison peaked in the 2010s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
83 people · the #47,007 first name in Brazil · median age 28
Among people named Addison living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Addison
Most people given the name Addison in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Addison deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Addison truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Addison fits with your family’s names and surname.
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