Maddison

Maddison takes the familiar English surname and softens it with an extra consonant, as if someone wrote it down in cursive and the letter stuck. Rooted in the medieval name Madde, a pet form of Maud or Matilda, it carries the quiet strength of those old Germanic roots, "mighty in battle," passed down through centuries of English parish rolls. The American romance with Madison-and-its-variants blossomed after the 1984 film Splash, and Maddison remains the preferred spelling across much of the UK and Australia. Today it hovers near the 487 mark, still feminine, still approachable, with a gentle lilt all its own.