Madison Phenom- Just For Fun!

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Registered: 06-25-2006
Madison Phenom- Just For Fun!
6
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 12:27am

Okay, I was reading a book tonight, "Founding Brothers" about the group of brilliant but flawed men who founded our country (I'm a U.S. history teacher) and I began thinking about the use of Madison as a girls name while reading about James Madison.

When and why did this phenomenon occur? I looked up the stats on the Baby Name Wizard Name Voyager and here is the deal:
It was used first as a boys name, #550 for boys in the 1890's and then fell out of the SSA in the 1940's.

Then all of a sudden in the 1980's Madison appeared as a girls name at #538. Then, as we know, it skyrocketed to #29 in the 1990's and up to #3 for 2005. Kennedy followed a similar trend, except never became quite as popular. I did not even get too much into the misspellings, although there are several for each in the top 1,000.

So my question is WHY did Madison become so popular all of a sudden? What motivated this spike? Why Madison instead of other presidential options? I have a few ideas, but I'll wait and see what all of you think before I share. Also, how long do you think it will stick around as a popular name?

Liz

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Registered: 08-26-2006
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 1:16am

The first time Madison appeared as a girls name, that I know of, was as Daryl Hannah's character in the movie Splash (1984). When Tom Hank's character asked Daryl Hannah what her name was she made some mermaid high-pitched squeals. Then at some point she picked the name off a street sign - Madison Ave. I believe that is the genesis of this name. By the 1990s this name starting showing-up more and more. My little sis, age 22, has a friend with this name who was born in Spring of 1985. Her mother said this movie is why she chose the name Madison.

HTH!
Brooke

ETA: After Daryl Hannah picks the name Madsion Tom Hank's character makes some joke about how that is a funny name for a girl!




Edited 4/5/2007 1:23 am ET by baylorbrooke
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Registered: 03-20-2003
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 3:19am

Yup, I agree with Brooke.

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Registered: 10-14-2005
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 11:24am

It was definitely Splash that started the trend.

Splash was released in March of 1984. In the movie, Daryl Hannah plays a mermaid who comes on land and falls in love with Tom Hanks. When he asks her name, she shrieks in her Mermaid language and nearly shatters his eardrums, so he informs her that she needs to choose a new name. They happen to be crossing Madison Ave., so she chooses Madison. To which Tom Hanks replies, "Madison? That's not a name!" and tries to get her to change her mind, but she refuses. The name was chosen because it was a ridiculous choice that no human would make. (Oh the irony.)

The writers were correct at the time. No one was choosing Madison as a baby name. It hadn't ever made the top 1000 for any year that records were kept.

The next year, 299 sets of parents chose the name for their little girl. I would imagine that the vast majority of them heard it in the movie and thought, "Actually, it's kind of cool..." And from there it skyrocketted. After a few years, most parents probably didn't know where the name came from, they just thought it was a unique-sounding name that fit in with the popular unisex/surnames of the time (Jordan, Mackenzie, etc.)




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Registered: 08-01-2003
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 12:37pm

the very first Madison I ever knew (she is now 16) was named for the character in the Splash movie. when she was named that, at that time, we had NEVER heard it as a first name or a girls name, and sort of asked "how'd you decide on that" and she said her husband wanted it and got it from the movie Splash

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Registered: 09-29-2005
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 3:39pm

Well if you look at the actual numbers on the SSA's site, Madison appeared on the boy's side nearly every year from 1880 to 1930, generally towards the bottom of the list and never getting higher than the the 300s. I's assume many of these were family surnames.

It then hovered around the top 1000 (appearing around the 900s, on average) half the years between 1931 and 1952, when it finally dropped out completely for an extended period of time.

Then it finally reappeared in 1985 ... on the girl side! Though to be fair, it also made the boys' again soon after, in 1987. It is interesting to note that Madison has not been abandoned as a male name, btw. After reappearing in 1987, it stayed on the list every year until 1999 (as high as the 600s many of those years), and has been in the boys' top 1000 as recently as 2004.

Why did it seemingly appear out of nowhere as such a popular choice for girls, however? It can't be a coincidence that it burst onto the feminine scene just after Daryl Hannah snatched it off a street sign in Splash the prior year, could it?!?

And the random surnames, place name, Mc-/-son and old-fashioned names and/or nns trends, especially for girls, have only fueled the fire. It's a name that fit into so many of these popular categories, and therefore struck a cord with so many different people, it just became unstoppable. Of course it helped that many didn't realize just how popular it was already becoming, and actually thought they were thinking outside the box with a surname/place name traditionally used as a masculine fn. I remember my own in-laws commenting back in 2001 (when I was pregnant with our first) that Madison was ONLY a ln, and therefore COULDN'T be used as a given name. LOL If only they knew. (Incidentally, they then suggested it in 2004, when we were awaiting the birth of our second dd ... apparently the trend caught up with even them LOL).

As to staying power, I'd assume it will be a bit like Stephanie or Tammy in that respect, perhaps staying in or around the top ten for a majority of the next decade before finally petering out. The thing is, the numbers after that long seem almost deceptive, since obviously the name is being used somewhere, yet it already seems dated (even when you do hear it used). Stephanie, from the example above, is still ranked at 64, but I haven't heard of a baby named thus for years (and if I did see one in a birth announcement, I'd definitely think it dated). And Tammy hasn't been in the top 1000 since 1998, despite steadily ranking in the top 100 names from 1958 to 1980 (and in the top 500s into the early 90s).

So it will be around for a bit longer, but already seems dated, to be frank.

Interesting to think about, btw. :)


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Registered: 08-26-2006
Thu, 04-05-2007 - 4:06pm

<>>

Question: What sparked the Jennifer trend? My mother had always said the movie Love Story (1970), but I checked the SSA website and Jennifer was already 1 in 1970. I found Jennifer first appearing in the charts in 1938! And then making a slow, gradual rise to the top. I am sure someone knows the answer!

Thanks,
Brooke - My mom admits that she chose my name because of the actress Brooke Shields. I am sure that lots of little Keira's will be saying the same thing :-)