This name, like it's ending suggests, means "son of" - in this particular case, "son of Maud or son of Matthew". Any name that ends in "son" has a masculine meaning, but it seems these days that isn't important when naming a daughter. Madison has become the iconic "son" name for girls, and made the "son" ending a trend that seems to be getting more and more popular these days.
So what started this trend on girls? A movie. In 1984, a film starting Tom Hanks called "Splash" starred a mermaid who happened to adopt this name when walking through Madison Avenue in New York. It just goes to show you anything can change your perception on a name, and even make it skyrocket in popularity out of the blue. But sadly, just like with most male names that get adopted by girls, this name started to sink for boys and exited the chart soon after.
So let's see how Madison performed for boys:
