Madison

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Madison is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French given name35K records spelled Madison2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Gabon, Belgium, France

• Serbian name2.8K records spelled Madison13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Montenegro

  Also written Medison, Мадисън, Медисон

• Russian surname983 records spelled Madison12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Мадисон, Мадісон, Мэдисон, Медісон, Мэдысан

• Thai given name913 records spelled Madison11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, India, Laos

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Maddison, แมดดิสัน, Medison, เมดิสัน, แมดิสัน

60 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Madison is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, metronymic from the medieval female personal name Madde, a form of Maud (see Mould 1) or Magdalen (see Maudlin). IJames Madison (1751-1836), 4th President of the U.S. (1809-17), was bom in VA, the son of a planter. He was descended from John Madison, a ship’s carpenter from Gloucester, England, who had settled in VA in about 1653.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, An English surname originating as a matronymic; (US politics) used specifically of James Madison (1751–1836), a Founding Father and fourth president of the United States.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, James, 4th US president; US pi.

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, from an English surname, 'son of Maud'

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In English, English; child of Maud or Matthew

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 145 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• James Madisonb. 1751USPresident of the United States from 1809 to 1817 (1751–1836)
• Dolley Madisonb. 1768USFirst Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817
• Madison Keysb. 1995USUS American tennis player
• Madison Davenportb. 1996USAmerican actress
• Madison Isemanb. 1997USAmerican actress
• Madison Pettisb. 1998USAmerican actress
• Bailee Madisonb. 1999USAmerican actress
• Mikey Madisonb. 1999USAmerican actress (born 1999)
• Madison Beerb. 1999USAmerican singer (born 1999)
• Maddie Zieglerb. 2002USnot in their usual nameAmerican dancer and actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 898 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Madison?

We estimate roughly 362 thousand people bear Madison (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Madison have the most bearers?

We estimate about 356 thousand people bear Madison in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled madison.

Where is Madison most common?

Madison is densest in the United States, where the national register counts about 1 in 935 people carrying it.

What does the name Madison mean?

Recorded meaning: 'Son of Madde', a medieval female personal name, a different form of Maud or of Magdalen.