The Madison surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 28,411 people carried this name — #1,241 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,400 people counted. That is up 7% from 26,548 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Madison surname

Usually derived from Mathieson (Matthew + -son), occasionally from Middle English Maddy (“Maud”) + -son.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Maud’.

His entry covers Maddison and Madison.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 505 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

54 people named Madison is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 54

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 print

Madison in American newspapers,
1812–1887.

Newspaper page from Constitutionalist And Weekly Magazine carrying the name Madison
Constitutionalist And Weekly Magazine 1812-11-17
Newspaper page from Madison Times carrying the name Madison
Madison Times 1887-07-16
Newspaper page from The Rodney Telegraph carrying the name Madison
The Rodney Telegraph 1840-07-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 24,412 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Madison in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1990s.

3,301 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Madison. The most, 904, date from the 1930s. New South Wales 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 the Northern Territory, at 6.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,183
Victoria 715
Queensland 584
Western Australia 295
South Australia 282
Tasmania 165
Northern Territory 29
ACT (Canberra) 25

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

Who carried it

People named Madison,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Madison, Sr.
    James Madison, Sr. 1723–1801 · plantation owner
  • Eleanor Rose Conway
    Eleanor Rose Conway 1731–1829 · socialite
  • James Madison
    James Madison 1749–1812 · presbyter
  • James Madison
    James Madison 1751–1836 · writer
  • George Madison
    George Madison 1763–1816 · politician
  • Diane Madison d. 2019

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Madison,
in the records of 4 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 States1,968 records

1,968 records of the Madison name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 770
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 522
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 413
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 135
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 80
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 24
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 8
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  • Sacramento County historic burials 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Cyril Hyman Madison

    Born 1950; from Houston, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1972 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Charles H. Madison

    Born 1921 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Philadelphia; apprentice machinist. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at BG William C Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, New Jersey.

    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 Ernst Madison

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Alaska from Marseilles and Naples, aged 27; painter. From Finland, Russia; bound for Chicago.

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

Showing 3 of 1,968 records for Madison in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia18 records

18 records of the Madison name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  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 Robert Madison

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Blenheim, arriving 1839; ticket of leave 1844.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Noel Ernest Madison

    Gentleman of E Geelong, Victoria; died 1973.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Madison

    Arrived in Victoria in 1866 aboard the Tararua, aged 40.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 18 records for Madison in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada7 records

7 records of the Madison name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  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 Edward Madison

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Delaware, Ohio.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lena Madison

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John Madison

    Listed at Clements, Annapolis, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1827.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Madison in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. 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); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Madison 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 Lily May Madison

    Born 1922 in China; died 1977 in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jill Wanda Madison

    Born 1951 in Germany; died 1999 in Savigny-le-Temple (Seine-et-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Madison.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Madison 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.

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