Behind the Name Madison

History
Historically, Madison was more popular name for men than for women, ranking at the 374th most popular boys name in 1880. In the 1980's, Madison began to grow in popularity, perhaps due to the influence of the 1984 movie Splash. In the 1990's the name leapt in popularity, reaching 29th place. In recent years, Madison has become one of the most common US names for girls. Today, Madison is one of the most popular names in the United States, currently ranking number 5 in the Social Security Administration's list of top ten names for 2007 (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames).

Personality Profile
According to personality profiler Kerrin Carleen Hopkins (http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=147793&x=articles&s=lifestyle),' 'Madisons are strong-willed and capable. They know what they want and go for it. ''

Facts about Madison

The name Madison was originally a last name meaning ''son of Maud''. The name Maud derives from Matilda, meaning "might, strength" and "battle."

In 1984, the movie Splash featured Daryl Hannah as a mermaid who chooses the name Madison for herself after seeing a Madison Avenue street sign. Many attribute the rise in popularity of the name to its silver screen debut.

The name Madison can be used for both boys and girls, although the male version of the name is far less popular than the female version.

James Madison was the fourth president of the United States. He is known as the ''Father of the Bill or Rights'' for drafting the first ten amendments to the Constitution. While serving as secretary of state, he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase which vastly increased the size of the new United States.

Madison Avenue is a New York City address that has become famous as the home of the American advertising industry.

In 2003, protesting the sudden popularity of the name Madison and its relative recent origin compared to mainstays like Mary and Elizabeth, journalist Gene Weingarten wrote: ''Madison is symptomatic of something I call the ''Elantra'' phenomenon, after the appalling marketing-driven trend among automakers to name their cars pleasing sounds that have no meaning.'' (source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A20374-2003Sep16)

Famous Madisons
Madison Hubbell (American ice dancer)
Madison Lu (actress)
Madison Pettis (actress)
Madison Sinclair (fictional character in the television drama Veronica Mars)
Madison Hedgecock (American football player)
Madison (female professional wrestler)

Alternate forms
Madysin; Madyson; Maddison; Maddisin; Maddysin; Madyson; Maddy; Maddie;

Sources
2007 rankings are courtesy the Social Security Administration (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/).
Historical name data generated from the Baby Name Wizard (http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager)
Sources for name facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_%28given_name%29
Personality profile from the Calgary Sun (http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=147793&x=articles&s=lifestyle)