Madison
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Meaning
a surname read as "son of Maud" or "son of Matthew"; presidential in weight, it was almost never a girls' first name until the 1980s, when it caught on and rewrote the map for surname names. Maddie is the inevitable, cheerful short form
Goes by Maddie. See all nicknames
The story
Madison began as an English surname, read in the old records as son of Maud or son of Matthew, and for two centuries its weight was presidential: James Madison, father of the Constitution. As a girls' first name it essentially did not exist before the 1980s. Then came the mermaid. In the 1984 film Splash, Daryl Hannah's character picks her name off a Madison Avenue street sign, and Tom Hanks's character protests that Madison is not a name. America decided otherwise. The name entered the charts within that decade, surged through the 1990s, and peaked in the 2000s near the very top of the girls' list. We cannot prove the movie did it, but the timing is hard to ignore. It has eased since, settling into familiar, well-liked territory, having rewritten the map for surname names, with cheerful Maddie always close at hand.
How popular is Madison around the world?
In the United States, 32,602 babies were named Madison between 2020 and 2025.
Madison is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina, Scotland, Mexico City, Ireland, England and Wales, Chile, France, Montevideo, Austria, Brazil and Spain.
Madison crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 670
In the United States, 32,602 babies were named Madison between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Madison peaked in the 2000s. Madison went to 10,182 US babies in 2015 and 4,963 in 2025, 49% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6802017
In South Australia, 27 girls were registered as Madison in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 990
In Canada, 369 girls named Madison were born in 2024, the 61st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 1,200
In New Zealand, 50 girls named Madison were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Argentina
1 in 1,400
In Argentina, 478 newborns were given the name Madison in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Scotland
1 in 1,400
In Scotland, 33 girls named Madison were registered in 2024, the 135th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 81 registrations of Madison in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Ireland
1 in 1,700
In Ireland, 31 girls named Madison were born in 2025, the 148th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 2,100
In England and Wales, 280 girls named Madison were born in 2025, the 175th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Chile
1 in 4,600
In Chile, 39 girls were registered as Madison in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
France
1 in 21,000
In France, about 30 girls named Madison were born in 2025, ranked 1,136th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Madison was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 girls named Madison were born in 2025, ranked 1,026th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
1 in 250,000
At the 2022 census, 741 people in Brazil were named Madison, ranked 10,195th, with a median age of 25.
Among people named Madison living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 38 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 290,000
In Spain, 154 residents are named Madison, ranked 5,462nd among women, with a mean age of 9.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Madison is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Poland
last on record 2021
Madison is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Madison is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 20 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Madison
Most people given the name Madison in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Madison · Names that go with Madison · Nicknames for Madison · Climbers and fallers
The Madison deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Madison 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 Madison fits with your family’s names and surname.
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