Head to head · Girls' names
Maddison vs Maia
#438 vs #433 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Maia is a whisker ahead (#433 vs #438 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Maia leads 4 measures of 6; Maddison leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1950s: Maddison —, Maia #4921 — Maia higher
- 1960s: Maddison —, Maia #2821 — Maia higher
- 1970s: Maddison —, Maia #1560 — Maia higher
- 1980s: Maddison #3830, Maia #1682 — Maia higher
- 1990s: Maddison #856, Maia #1106 — Maddison higher
- 2000s: Maddison #428, Maia #567 — Maddison higher
- 2010s: Maddison #349, Maia #592 — Maddison higher
- 2020s: Maddison #480, Maia #451 — Maia higher
Maia stood higher in 5 of 8 decades; Maia took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maddison | Maia |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | — | #4921 |
| 1960s | — | #2821 |
| 1970s | — | #1560 |
| 1980s | #3830 | #1682 |
| 1990s | #856 | #1106 |
| 2000s | #428 | #567 |
| 2010s | #349 | #592 |
| 2020s | #480 | #451 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Maddison
son of Maud
The surname comes from a medieval pet form, Madde, plus "son". Surname scholars disagree over which name Madde stood for: most read it as Maud (from Matilda), while others allow Magdalen or the men's name Matthew. All three readings are serious; the "son of Maud" line is the most widely given.
Matilda → Maud → Madde → Maddison
How it traveled
The surname Maddison is recorded in medieval England, concentrated in Durham and Northumberland, formed the ordinary way — a first name plus "son". It stayed a surname for centuries, worn in Britain and carried to America, where the single-d Madison also became a well-known political and street name.
Maia
mother, nurse, midwife (Greek); also linked to growth and the month of May
In ancient Greek, maia was a respectful word for a mother, nurse or midwife, and that is the reading behind the mythological Maia of the Pleiades. Roman tradition attached the name to the month of Maius and to a goddess of growth, tying it to the Latin root for increase. A third road matters in American use: the spelling Maia often stands in for Maya, which has its own separate sources — Sanskrit maya and a Hebrew name connected with water. Same four sounds, different family trees.
Μαῖα (Greek) → Maia (Latin) → Maja → Maia
How it traveled
The name is first securely Greek: Μαῖα, borne by the eldest of the Pleiades, and used in ordinary speech as a courteous term for a nurse or mother. Latin took it up as Maia, where Roman writers such as Ovid linked it to the month of Maius and to a goddess associated with growing things.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Maddison
MAD-ih-sun
Three syllables, stress on the first. The doubled d changes nothing about how it is said — Maddison and Madison are heard identically.
- Maddie — The default short form, used from toddlerhood onward and often kept into adult life; also given as a standalone name.
- Maddy — Same sound, the other common spelling; which one sticks usually depends on the family.
- Mads — Informal, mostly between friends and siblings.
- Addie — Less common route, taken from the middle of the name rather than the front.
Maia
MY-ah
MY-ah is the usual American reading. MAY-ah is also heard, closer to the Latin and to the month of May, and both are correct — which does mean the name will occasionally be said the other way and need a gentle correction.
- Mai — The most natural clipping; used informally, and a standalone given name in several Asian languages.
- May — Informal, and an established given name in its own right in English.
- Mae — Same sound as May, spelled the American way; also common as a middle name.
- Maimai — A reduplicated family nickname of the kind small children get, rarely used past childhood.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maddison if you want…
- a name holding steadyMaddison is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMaddison runs 3 syllables, Maia 2
Choose Maia if you want…
- a name on the way upup 64 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaia is 2 syllables to Maddison's 3
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Maddison
Strengths
- Pronounced correctly on sight by nearly everyone, since the sound is already familiar from the surname and the single-d spelling.
- Comes with a ready-made short form, Maddie, that has been in use for generations and also works as a name on its own.
- A genuine English surname with a documented medieval record, not a modern coinage.
To consider
- The single-d Madison is the spelling most Americans assume, so expect a lifetime of gentle correction on forms, emails and coffee cups.
- Maddie is shared with Madeline, Madelyn, Madison and more, so the nickname will be far more crowded than the full name — worth knowing if the appeal is rarity.
- Almost everyone carrying it is still young, which ties the name fairly clearly to one stretch of time rather than to a long line of grandmothers and great-aunts.
Maia
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and easy to write early: four letters, no silent parts, no double consonants.
- A documented record stretching from ancient Greek through Latin into modern European use — nothing about it is newly minted.
- Works in several languages with only a change of spelling: Maja, Майя, Maia.
To consider
- The Maya spelling is far better known in the US, so Maia will be written the other way often — on forms, in emails, on birthday cards. Most people with this spelling settle into a habit of saying "Maia, with an i" for life.
- Two live pronunciations, MY-ah and MAY-ah, means she may hear both from teachers and new acquaintances until she corrects them.
- There is also crossover with Mia and Maria in ordinary conversation, since all three share their opening sounds; expect the occasional mishearing over the phone.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Maddison and Maia in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Maddison and Maia?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Maddison and Maia — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maddison or Maia — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maddison or Maia?
- Maia, in 2025: Maia ranked #433 with 715 babies; Maddison ranked #438 with 703 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maddison or Maia?
- Maia. Over the last five years Maddison moved up 36 places; Maia moved up 64 places.
- Which is the older name, Maddison or Maia?
- Maddison entered the US charts in 1985; Maia entered the US charts in 1950. On the American record, Maia is the older name.
- How many people are named Maddison and Maia?
- About 24,000 people named Maddison are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 18,000 people named Maia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maddisons or Maias in the classroom?
- Maddison will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Maddison, Maia and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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