Girl · #49 in 2026

Madison

Name: Popularity of the name Madison in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Madison, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Madison is a surname of English origin that has become a popular given name in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Canada. Madison, also spelled Maddison, is a variant of Mathieson, meaning son of Matthew. It may also have come from son of Maddy, Maddy being a diminutive of Maud.

Current Rank

#49

Peak Rank

#2 (2001)

Total Babies

424K

5-Yr Trend

-28%

1970

First Year

2026

Last Year

2001

Peak Year

Peak Rank

424K

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Madison

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Madison

Madison first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1970, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2001, when 22,166 Madisons were born — ranking #2 that year. As of 2026, Madison ranks #49 for baby girls with 4,299 births, falling sharply (-28%). In total, more than 424K Madisons have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Madison

Phonetically similar names — useful when Madison is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Maddison
Medicine
Medicin
Mattison
Matteson
Madsen
Madson
Madisons
Medusan
Medecine
Medicene
Medicines

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Madison

What does the name Madison mean?

How popular is Madison in 2026?

In 2026, Madison ranks #49 among girls' names in the U.S., with 4,299 babies given the name that year.

When was Madison most popular?

Madison reached its peak popularity in 2001, ranking #2 that year with 22,166 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Madison most popular?

Madison has historically been most popular in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Madison.

Is Madison a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Madison is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Madison?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Madison include Anna, Helen, Susan. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Madison

Madison is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1970 and has accumulated 424K births in the dataset. Madison's peak popularity came in 2001 when it ranked #2. Use the chart and map above to compare Madison's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.