Note: I’d originally agreed to write about Keziah today, for Racheli. Except when I finishing up the post, I realized it sounded eerily familiar. Sure enough, that was because Keziah was Baby Name of the Day back in the day. Oops, and Racheli, my apologies!
She made waves as the adopted name of a big screen mermaid.
Our Baby Name of the Day is the much-maligned Madison.
The year was 1984. Tom Hanks was just a young actor cast in a romantic comedy about a man and a mermaid, years before he became an Oscar-winning A-lister. His co-star, the one in the flippers, was Darryl Hannah, equally early in her career.
You probably know the clip that inspires Hanks’ character to rename his fishy friend. They’re in a department store. She insists her name can’t be said in English, and he replies “Then just say it in your language.” Her high-pitched squeaks shatter the television screens.
They’re trying to find a non-glass-shattering alternative while they’re walking down Madison Avenue and, well, the rest is history. Splash was a huge hit, and Madison was on her way to the US Top Ten, with thousands of baby girls named after a mermaid who named herself after a street.
But it isn’t that simple – or that silly. In the 1980s, Allison and Megan were popular choices. Madison’s sound and style fit with names that were mainstream in the moment.
But there’s more: the classic Madeline was beginning her return. In 1978, Madeline ranked #704. By 1984, she’d climbed to #623 and by 1986, she’d reached #288. That’s easy to explain, of course – we were all watching Maddie and David on Moonlighting. A long-forgotten girls’ name was suddenly fresh and interesting again.
It was a pop culture perfect storm. Splash put Madison on the map, and Moonlighting prompted parents to consider other ways to get to Maddie.
The name wasn’t without roots. Founding father James Madison helped write the US Constitution, then served as president for a second act. (The street is named in his honor.) There’s also novelist Madison Smartt Bell, a novelist and one of many men to wear the name.
This brings us to one of the biggest controversies surrounding Madison. Why, oh why, must parents steal boys’ names for girls?
I understand the frustration, but I’m not sure the logic holds. In English, there is little custom of forming of surname to indicate “daughter of” as there is in other languages. Pippi Longstocking, for example, has Efraimsdotter included in her extensive appellation. Slavic languages, too, sometimes include matronymics.
But it does happen in English – and Madison just might be one of those cases. Madison’s son clearly indicates descent from an ancestor. That ancestor might be Matthew – Mad was a short form in medieval English, the equivalent of today’s Matt.
Or Madison could mean son of Maude – or, more broadly, Maude’s descendant. While it wasn’t as common as taking a name from your father, if your mother’s family was especially powerful, if your father was foreign, or perhaps if your father passed away before you were born, you could take a surname based on your mother’s name. Marriott is based on Mary or Marie; Beaton relates to Beatrice.
Madison enjoyed steady but limited use for men for years. He peaked at #332 in 1882. By 1953, he’d left the rankings entirely.
Parents weren’t using him for boys, but they were using tailored choices like Kristen, Erin, and Karen for their daughters. Little wonder, then, that Madison debuted in US Top 1000 for girls at #625 in 1985.
Madison reached the Top 100 in 1994, and peaked at #2 in 2001 and 2002. She’s fallen to #8, but that’s deceptive. From the original French Madeleine to respellings of Madison, there is no shortage of similar names in use today, like:
- Madison
- Madelyn
- Madeline
- Maddison
- Madilyn
- Madeleine
- Madalyn
- Madisyn
- Madelynn
- Madyson
- Madalynn
- Maddilynn
It’s an epidemic.
Interestingly, though, Madison actually rose for boys after it caught parents’ attention for their daughters. After decades spent dormant, from 1987 into 1999, Madison appeared at the fringes of the boys’ rankings, perhaps prompting those accusations of theft. Today, a son is more likely to answer to Maddox or Madden.
Something tells me that Madison, however reviled she may be on message boards, is actually another Jennifer – a name we never considered until she was so common that the name became perfectly ordinary. Twenty years from now, I suspect we’ll be hearing “I was one of three Madisons in my high school; I want my child to have an unusual name, like Gertrude.”
Or at least I can hope!
I’ve heard of a couple Madison’s in the UK and while Madison and Maddison are in our top 100 (ranked 54 and 62 respectively) the name really hasn’t taken off here in the same way that it has in the States. I have very little to add that everyone hasn’t already said. Personally, I’m far too concerned about the heritage of a name to ever consider one that began it’s life as a joke in a movie and would rather a girl had a strong, feminine appellation.
I used to love the name Madison (about 10 years ago when I was 14). It was kind of one of those guilty pleasure names for me… although now it’s so over-used that I’m sick of it (it was over-used then too… I just didn’t know it) :). My new trendy guilty pleasure is Taylor. I’m sorry, I would never use it, but I think it’s adorable.
I like the point you bring up about -son names being used on girls because there’s really not a “daughter of” name. I personally wouldn’t use any -son names on girls because I like more feminine sounding names, but I can see the appeal. I have a friend who named her son Josson, after her husband (Josh’s son). To me, that’s still how I see -son names should be.
It so totally doesn’t surprise me that this post inspired so many comments. Nothing to say about Madison that hasn’t already been said. But I too have a trendy guilty pleasure: Harlow. I…I actually like it. Even though it only exists because of Hollywood and it means “army.” Am I dying?
Ah, I’ll admit it – I love Harlow, too. And Marlo. But not Marlowe. That I don’t get, Jason Schwartzman.
Maybe because Schwartzman stars in a detective series, it was in honor of Philip Marlowe?
I like Harlow, too! I probably wouldn’t except that one of my friends has a little Harlow. My friend is one of the smartest and classiest people I know, so I figured if she chose that name it must have its merits.
There is a group on America’s Best Dance Crew with 12/13 year old BOY named Madison…
I am a girl and my name is Allison, I know an Alison (x2), Allison, Alycyn (not joking) and an Allisson. All around my age. (16)
Yes, Madison Alamia. He’s a cute kid.
I just checked his profile page on MTV and there are hundreds of comments there, and none mention that he “has a girls name”, which is pretty incredible. No one seemed to bat an eyelid at his name, so maybe we really are moving towards different times where these kind of names are no longer that tease worthy?
Madison’s just ehh for me. I (as a 16 year old) know at least 3, all of whom are Madison “Maddie (or Madi)”. On the subject of Morgan, it’s one of the few unisex names I like for both genders. But I like it for boys more. And Morgana’s starting to grow on me too, but as a fantasy lover, I’ve read a few to many adaptations, in which Morgan(a) invariably betrays her (half-)brother, in some cases rather disturbingly. (If you want to know that story, read Mercedes Lackey’s Gwynhwyfar, good book).
I don’t understand the bad rap Madison gets. It’s not a personal favorite of mine and I wouldn’t consider it but I don’t think it’s as awful as people make it out to be. Given its popularity, I must not be the only one who feels this way.
I think Madison is fine. It’s the nickname Maddie that I dislike. It’s not a name I would ever consider, but I certainly wouldn’t judge someone who likes it enough to use it. The kreative spellings are irritating, though. I think this is one of those surnames that have been used so often for girls that it doesn’t really sound like a surname anymore (like Ashley and Kelly).
Did people get as bored and irritated with Jennifer in the 1970s as they have with Madison?
It’s not an awful name, but I’m so sick of the Maddie nickname by now that I’ve gone right off names I used to like, such as Madeleine.
I just realised that Madison is another of the “Matilda”names! Oh well, can’t hate it now, can I? *grin*
Madison IS another Matilda name, isn’t she? Never thought of it that way!
I’m not sure if parents were irritated with Jennifer, but the Nameberry duo’s book was originally titled “Beyond Jennifer and Jason.” It makes me think that there must’ve been some sense that Jennifer was epidemic, even if there was no blogosphere to back it up.
Thinking about it, though, I realize that even the most common names of the 70s weren’t much repeated in my subdivision. The girls I grew up with were: Michelle, Kimberly (x2), Heather, Robyn, Jennifer (right next door!), Cara, Beth, Karyn, and Donna. It wasn’t until I hit elementary school that I realized I was doomed to be Amy N., Jenny M.’s neighbor. So our parents might not have really felt the impact the way we did … not sure about that.
Jennifer, like Madison, is another name inspired by a movie (Love Story).
I know Jennifer is meant to be the quintessential 1970s name, but I was born in the 1970s and I only knew two Jennifers. Maybe parents didn’t go so overboard with names, or the population was smaller, or it was too fashionable for my neck of the woods. Or else they’d read an article on how common it was, so avoided it.
I grew up with literally dozens of Michelles and Debbies, but I don’t know how adults felt about “too many” of a name.
That’s a very nice point – though Love Story was the kind of movie you might expect to inspire a child’s name. It’s more acceptable to choose names from tragic heroines than from comic relief. Not sure why … and maybe that’s not entirely true. But it strikes me that names drawn from what we perceive as high or serious culture get a pass, while those from, say reality TV or soap operas? Not so much.
Yes – calling your daughter Elizabeth after Austen’s Miss Bennett is considered acceptable, but calling her Isabella after Bella Swann is considered a bit naff. Not really fair …
It’s true! Sabrina and Vanessa are poetic inventions, I think, and no one would ever accuse you of giving your daughter a “made up” name if you used either one. But Maci? Nooooo.
It’s not a name I like, but I know so many sweet girls with the name I can’t hate it. But at the same time, the seemingly universal attraction to Maddie/Addie/Gabby, etc. has eluded me. I just don’t get it.
No -son name [or any other name with a ‘son’ meaning] will ever be okay on a girl to me. [Allison I *only* like as Alicen.] I think Madison sounds a bit fresh on a boy though.
Alison is a legitimate form of Alice. However, the more common spelling Allison, is one of the male “son” names.
I always confuse the Alison & Allison spellings, but my point is that I would personally only spell the diminutive of Alice as Alicen. So yeah, I would use Allison on a boy, Alicen on a girl.
You’re right that Allison can be a patronymic, but so can Alison. And Alison and Allison have been used for women since the Middle Ages. It isn’t possible to make that kind of fine distinction. The idea of standardized spelling is a twentieth century phenomenon, and the vast majority of names are far older.
Oh, and to the extent that it is a surname and not a diminutive, it can be derived from several names, including Allen, Alexander, and Alice/Alis/Aliss – which puts Allison squarely in the same category as Madison. We see “son” as exclusively masculine today, but I think it is more accurate to understand it as “descendant.” Does anyone know anything about gender in written medieval English? Off to search …
Alicen did exist in medieval English – but I don’t know how common it might’ve been. I do like the “c” spelling.
I’m rather intrigued by the name Alicen as I’ve never come across it before. So I looked for it in Withycombe’s “The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names”, first published in Great Britain in 1945. Withycombe says of Alison: “a pet-name of Alice, formed by the addition of the suffix ‘-on’ to the French ‘A(a)lis’. It was common in France from the 13th C and was often treated as an independent name. It was still common in England in the 17th C, especially in the North country, where it often appears as ‘Alicen’…”
So there it is – Alicen. And according to this name researcher, the ‘son’ in Alison is purely by chance — adding ‘on’ to the French form of the name ‘Alis’– and doesn’t indicate being a ‘son’ of anyone.
Withycombe continues: “The “locus classicus” is the Middle English poem with the refrain ‘From all wymmen my love is lent, Ant lyht on Alisoun’.” Early records of the name include Alison in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, c.1386. and Alicen, Allison in Yorks Recussants, 1604.
Exactly! Thanks for that research, Patricia.
I don’t mind the sound of Madison, one of my best friends is a Madison, it’s just so tired to me. I can’t understand why people are still choosing it. There are SO many Madisons! What could possibly be the appeal of a name that is literally everywhere?
I always wonder about that. For every parent I know who says “we have NO idea” there are some who say “I’ve had names picked out since I was six.” I wonder if some of the names that were picked out early days just get so set that we’re still in love with them even after they’re everywhere? If you were naming your dolls Madison in 1988, maybe you’d still want to use it for your daughter in 2011?
Maybe. My best friend since childhood had her son’s name picked out since we were 11, and she stuck with it. Now, it’s not a super popular name, but it does illustrate exactly what you’re saying. I guess those namers I can understand because I do feel like your love for a name outways it’s popularity. It’s the people who say “we had no idea!” that urk me. I cannot imagine blindly naming my child without knowing everything about the name! And if you do choose a popular name, at least choose it with your eyes open. But I guess that’s what makes all of us namenerds different 🙂 (And gives all of our kids the coolest names)