The Madden surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 35,438 people carried this name — #982 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,330 people counted. That is up 3% from 34,472 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Madden surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Madadháin (“descendant of Madadhán”), a diminutive of madadh (“dog”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Madden» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 107 births for the Madden name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 4,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Galway, Cork, Dublin, and Antrim.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 37
Munster 33
Leinster 21
Ulster 16

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 27 people named Madden.

Most of them — 19 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Haute-Marne.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 19
Haute-Marne 3
Paris 2
Pyrénées-Orientales 1
Yvelines 1
Vosges 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

21 people named Madden live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 11
Schaffhausen 4
Lucerne 3
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

32 people named Madden is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 32

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

Madden was recorded 31 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 793rd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 54. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

49 families named Madden, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 263 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 12
Massachusetts 6
Virginia 6
North Carolina 6
Pennsylvania 5
South Carolina 5
New York 4
Maine 3
New Hampshire 1
Vermont 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 251 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Madden in American newspapers,
1902–1906.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Madden
Daily Kennebec Journal 1902-05-17
Newspaper page from Northern Wisconsin Advertiser carrying the name Madden
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser 1906-08-30
Newspaper page from Wood County Reporter carrying the name Madden
Wood County Reporter 1906-08-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,311 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Madden in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

115,869 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Madden. The most, 17,593, date from the 1890s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 48,967
New South Wales 30,224
Tasmania 18,205
Queensland 10,304
Western Australia 3,919
South Australia 3,721
ACT (Canberra) 301
Northern Territory 89

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Madden.

Who carried it

People named Madden,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Madden
    Samuel Madden 1686–1765 · writer
  • Richard Robert Madden
    Richard Robert Madden 1798–1886 · writer
  • Frederic Madden
    Frederic Madden 1801–1873 · librarian
  • Hugh Ambrose Madden
    Hugh Ambrose Madden 1839– · politician
  • John Madden
    John Madden 1844–1918 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 255 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Madden,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States8,291 records

8,291 records of the Madden name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,625
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2,324
  • Other U.S. records 3,342
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Andrew Madden

    Born 1943; from Chicago, Illinois. U.S. Army, infantry unit commander; killed in action 1970 in Binh Thuy, South Vietnam. Buried at Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Frank F. Madden

    Born 1916 in New York. Enlisted 1945 at New York City; window dresser from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret Madden

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 22; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 8,291 records for Madden in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,841 records

2,841 records of the Madden name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,363
  • Tasmanian Names Index 474
  • Other Australian records 1,004
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Catherine Madden

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Waverley, sailing from London Dublin in 1847. Native of Kings. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Madden

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hector, sailing from Woolwich in 1835. Native of Southwark, Surrey. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836. Married 1836 in New Norfolk, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Madden

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Pestongee Bomangee, sailing from Plymouth in 1845. Native of Lambeth, Surrey. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,841 records for Madden in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada473 records

473 records of the Madden name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 377
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 31
  • Other Canadian records 65
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Josph Alfred Madden

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of St.Catherines, Ontario.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Madden

    Came to Ontario in 1878 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Halifax, bound for Meaford, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harold Albert Madden

    Buried in 1984 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 75.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 473 records for Madden in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Ireland72 records

72 records of the Madden name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Madden

    Died 1933, aged 61; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Paddy Madden

    Died 1995, aged 92; buried at Clontuskert, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Madden

    Died 1994, aged 84; buried at Carraroe, Williamstown, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 72 records for Madden in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand58 records

58 records of the Madden name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 52
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 3
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Leslie Vincent Madden

    Died 1939, aged 20; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Madden

    Buried in 1901 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 55.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Madden

    Died 1940, aged 82; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 58 records for Madden in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom38 records

38 records of the Madden name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 23
  • Stirling Council burial records 9
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Christina Madden

    Died 1979, aged 79; buried at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ellen Madden

    Will proved in 1928; of Colwyn Bay, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 2 of 38 records for Madden in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Madden name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Mary Madden

    In the population register of Grawn Ierl; nun, born 1873 in Grawn Ierl.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Travers Madden

    Died 1937 in Stoutenburg, aged 63.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Madden in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France5 records

5 records of the Madden name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marjorie Claire Madden

    Born 1910 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Bois-Guillaume (Seine-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 5 records for Madden in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Madden name in Belgium Belgian population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Caroline Madden

    In the population register of Aalst; servant, born 1848 in Northampton Angleterre.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Madden.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Madden is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Madden volume
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