Head to head · Boys' names
Maddox vs Miguel
#209 vs #212 in 2025
Maddox is a whisker ahead (#209 vs #212 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maddox is stepping back from its peak, Miguel is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Miguel has the edge.
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, Miguel leads 3 measures of 6; Maddox 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
- 1880s: Maddox —, Miguel #595 — Miguel higher
- 1890s: Maddox —, Miguel #616 — Miguel higher
- 1900s: Maddox —, Miguel #530 — Miguel higher
- 1910s: Maddox —, Miguel #559 — Miguel higher
- 1920s: Maddox —, Miguel #454 — Miguel higher
- 1930s: Maddox —, Miguel #442 — Miguel higher
- 1940s: Maddox —, Miguel #408 — Miguel higher
- 1950s: Maddox —, Miguel #296 — Miguel higher
- 1960s: Maddox —, Miguel #240 — Miguel higher
- 1970s: Maddox —, Miguel #158 — Miguel higher
- 1980s: Maddox —, Miguel #113 — Miguel higher
- 1990s: Maddox #5310, Miguel #92 — Miguel higher
- 2000s: Maddox #1166, Miguel #93 — Miguel higher
- 2010s: Maddox #157, Miguel #151 — Miguel higher
- 2020s: Maddox #191, Miguel #194 — Maddox higher
Miguel stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Maddox took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maddox | Miguel |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #595 |
| 1890s | — | #616 |
| 1900s | — | #530 |
| 1910s | — | #559 |
| 1920s | — | #454 |
| 1930s | — | #442 |
| 1940s | — | #408 |
| 1950s | — | #296 |
| 1960s | — | #240 |
| 1970s | — | #158 |
| 1980s | — | #113 |
| 1990s | #5310 | #92 |
| 2000s | #1166 | #93 |
| 2010s | #157 | #151 |
| 2020s | #191 | #194 |
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
Maddox
Son of Madog — Madog from the Welsh 'mad', fortunate or good
Madog joins the Welsh element 'mad' (fortunate, benevolent) with the suffix -og. The surname form comes from 'ap Madog', son of Madog, which English flattened into Maddocks and Maddox.
Madog → Madoc → ap Madog → Maddocks → Maddox
How it traveled
The root is the medieval Welsh personal name Madog, borne by princes of Powys and Gwynedd — Madog ap Maredudd, who ruled Powys in the twelfth century, is the best documented of them. Welsh naming worked by patronymic, so a man could be known as ap Madog, son of Madog, and when fixed surnames took hold along the English border those phrases hardened into Maddocks, Maddock and Maddox.
Miguel
who is like God?
The Hebrew name is a rhetorical question, and Spanish spells it with a u after the g for a reason English readers do not need: in Spanish, g before e or i is a throat sound, so the u is there to keep it hard. The same rule gives guerra and guitarra. Without it the name would be pronounced with an h at the front of the second syllable.
a Hebrew question used as an archangel's name → Spanish adds a u to keep the g hard → Miguel becomes one of the commonest Spanish men's names → a soldier and slave writes the first modern novel → steady American use with a peak at the millennium
How it traveled
He had gone to Italy as a young man, enlisted, and fought at Lepanto with a fever, refusing to stay below decks. Two gunshots took his chest and his left hand; he was proud of it for the rest of his life and referred to it in prefaces.
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
Maddox
MAD-ux
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the x sounded as a clean 'ks'. English speakers get it right on sight; the older Welsh Madog is said MAD-og, with a hard g.
- Max — The most portable short form; also a full given name in its own right, so it works on a résumé as easily as on a playground.
- Maddy — Informal and family-side; also widely used for girls named Madeline or Madison, so it rarely travels alone.
- Dox — Informal, mostly a friends-and-teammates shortening.
- Mad — Heard among siblings and close friends; the bare form invites the obvious wordplay.
Miguel
mee-GEL
Two syllables with the stress at the back and a hard g. English speakers regularly produce mi-GWEL, sounding the u, which is precisely what the u is there to prevent.
- Miguelito — The Spanish affectionate form, used inside families.
- Mike — The English short form, which a great many bearers use at work.
Who has carried each name
Maddox
No documented entry for Maddox yet.
Miguel
Miguel de Cervantes (b. 1547) — Wrote Don Quixote, the first modern novel
Miguel Hidalgo (b. 1753) — The priest who launched Mexico's fight for independence
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maddox if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMaddox is stepping back from its peak
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Max, Maddy and Dox
- a newer arrivalMaddox entered the US charts in 1995
Choose Miguel if you want…
- a long American recordMiguel was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Maddox
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers — almost no one has to ask twice how to say it.
- Comes with Max ready-made as a short form, a name that stands perfectly well on its own.
- A documented Welsh line behind it, running from the medieval personal name Madog through the surnames Maddock and Maddocks.
To consider
- The variants Maddix, Maddax and Madox all exist, so expect an occasional 'how do you spell it' even though the sound is obvious.
- Its rise as a first name is genuinely recent, which means a Maddox in his fifties is a rare thing. It reads as a name of one particular generation, and that may or may not matter to you.
- Shortened all the way down, it becomes 'Mad' — a small opening for teasing that most boys close quickly by preferring Max.
Miguel
Strengths
- It is one of the most established names in the Spanish-speaking world.
- It is short, strong and read correctly by anybody who knows the rule about gu.
- The meaning is ancient, clear and easy to explain.
To consider
- English speakers will sound the u, and correcting it is a lifetime's work.
- Michael and Miguel are the same name, which surprises people on both sides.
- It is common enough in America that he may share it in a classroom.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Maddox
40%chance Maddox feels dated by 2040
Maddox sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Miguel
25%chance Miguel feels dated by 2040
Miguel peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Maddox and Miguel 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 Maddox and Miguel?
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 Maddox and Miguel — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maddox or Miguel — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maddox or Miguel?
- Maddox, in 2025: Maddox ranked #209 with 1,664 babies; Miguel ranked #212 with 1,661 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maddox or Miguel?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Maddox moved down 39 places; Miguel moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Maddox or Miguel?
- Maddox entered the US charts in 1995; Miguel was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Miguel is the older name.
- How many people are named Maddox and Miguel?
- About 46,500 people named Maddox are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 177,000 people named Miguel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maddoxs or Miguels in the classroom?
- Maddox will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miguel 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 Maddox, Miguel and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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