Mads
Mads is a male given name, a Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Scandinavian form of the English name Matthew. Notable people with the name include:
- Danish
Meaning & Origin of Mads
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Mads is a male given name, a Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Scandinavian form of the English name Matthew. Notable people with the name include:
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Danish
The Story of Mads
Mads first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 2011, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2021: 30 births, good for #3,648 nationwide. About 68% of every Mads on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Mads ranks #3,861 for baby boys with 29 births, rising sharply (+34% over the past five years). All told, over 283 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2010s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Mads
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Mads. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Mads
Phonetically similar names — useful when Mads is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Meds
- Moods
- Maids
- Mids
- Mods
- Modes
- Muds
- Mades
- Meads
- Medes
- Meeds
- Mauds
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mads
What does the name Mads mean?
What is the origin of the name Mads?
How popular is Mads in 2026?
When was Mads most popular?
Is Mads a unisex name?
What names go well with Mads?
What are nicknames or variants of Mads?
About the name Mads
Mads is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 2011 and has accumulated 283 births in the dataset. Mads's peak popularity came in 2021 when it ranked #3,648. Use the chart and map above to compare Mads's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2021 →
- Names of the 2020s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
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.