Head to head · Girls' names
Madisson vs Morgan
#319 vs #312 in 2025
Morgan is a whisker ahead (#312 vs #319 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Morgan is stepping back from its peak, Madisson is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Madisson has the edge.
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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, Morgan leads 5 measures of 6; Madisson leads 1.
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
- 1910s: Madisson —, Morgan #4809 — Morgan higher
- 1930s: Madisson —, Morgan #4255 — Morgan higher
- 1940s: Madisson —, Morgan #4111 — Morgan higher
- 1950s: Madisson —, Morgan #3563 — Morgan higher
- 1960s: Madisson —, Morgan #2124 — Morgan higher
- 1970s: Madisson —, Morgan #1044 — Morgan higher
- 1980s: Madisson #10847, Morgan #136 — Morgan higher
- 1990s: Madisson #4787, Morgan #32 — Morgan higher
- 2000s: Madisson #3377, Morgan #36 — Morgan higher
- 2010s: Madisson #4507, Morgan #117 — Morgan higher
- 2020s: Madisson #1677, Morgan #241 — Morgan higher
Morgan stood higher in every recorded decade — 11 of 11.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Madisson | Morgan |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #4809 |
| 1930s | — | #4255 |
| 1940s | — | #4111 |
| 1950s | — | #3563 |
| 1960s | — | #2124 |
| 1970s | — | #1044 |
| 1980s | #10847 | #136 |
| 1990s | #4787 | #32 |
| 2000s | #3377 | #36 |
| 2010s | #4507 | #117 |
| 2020s | #1677 | #241 |
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
Madisson
"son of Madde" — that is, son of Maud or of Magdalen
The surname is a patronymic built on Madde or Maddy, a medieval English pet form. Which name Madde stood for is the open question: most readings take it from Maud (itself from Matilda, "mighty in battle"), others from Magdalen. Either way the literal sense is "Madde's son," which sits oddly on a girl's name and has bothered nobody in forty years.
Matilda → Maud → Madde → Madison → Madisson
How it traveled
Madison began as an English surname, formed the ordinary medieval way by adding -son to a woman's pet name. It crossed to America as a family name and became famous there through the fourth president, James Madison, which is why nineteenth-century American boys occasionally carried it as a first name.
Morgan
from Welsh mor, "sea" — the second element is disputed
The first part is agreed: mor, "sea." The second is not. Old Welsh Morcant is usually read as mor plus cant, "circle" or "completion," giving the popular gloss "sea-circle"; others read the ending as "bright" or connect it to the widespread "born of the sea." The sea is solid ground here; what surrounds it is not.
Morcant → Morgan → Morgane → Morgana
How it traveled
The name begins as Old Welsh Morcant, which turns up in early medieval British records and passed into Welsh as Morgan, borne by men and later carried as one of the great Welsh surnames. Breton and French tradition took the Arthurian figure and made a feminine form, Morgane, which is why the name has two settled genders in Europe rather than one.
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
Madisson
MAD-i-sun
Stress on the first syllable. The doubled s changes nothing about the sound — it is said exactly as Madison is.
- Maddie — The default informal form; also given as a full name in its own right, and shared with Madeline and Matilda.
- Maddy — Same short form, the other common spelling — families tend to pick one and stick with it.
- Madi — Informal, and the spelling most often seen in writing among younger bearers.
- Mads — Casual, one syllable, common among friends and teammates.
- Also Sonny.
Morgan
MOR-gan
Stress on the first syllable, the second reduced to an unstressed -gan. Welsh speakers say it much the same way, with a tapped r. The French Morgane adds a final syllable: mor-GAN.
- Mo — The most common short form, informal; also serves as a nickname for several unrelated names, so it rarely points back to Morgan on its own.
- Morgs — Casual, friend-group register rather than family use.
- Morgie — Chiefly used with small children and inside families.
- Mory — Occasional affectionate form; sometimes spelled Morrie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Madisson if you want…
- a name on the way upup 2,455 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMadisson runs 3 syllables, Morgan 2
Choose Morgan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMorgan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMorgan is 2 syllables to Madisson'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
Madisson
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight anywhere in the English-speaking world, because the underlying name is thoroughly familiar.
- Comes with short forms already in circulation — Maddie, Maddy, Madi — none of which need explaining.
- Works as a surname-style name, which sits easily on a résumé, a byline or a nameplate.
To consider
- The world will default to Madison. Expect a lifetime of correcting one letter — on forms, in emails, on coffee cups. Many families decide that trade is worth the distinctiveness; some decide it isn't.
- The spelling is rare but the sound is not. A Madisson may still meet several Madisons, and will share Maddie with them.
- As a given name it is genuinely recent — a few decades, not a few centuries. If you want a name with deep family or historical roots, the surname is old but the first-name tradition is young.
Morgan
Strengths
- One spelling, no variants to correct: readers across English, Welsh and French recognize it on sight and say it the same way.
- A documented line running from Old Welsh Morcant to the present, with the written form essentially unchanged for centuries.
- Works unaltered for a boy or a girl, and needs no adjustment when traveling between English- and French-speaking countries.
To consider
- The gender reading flips by geography. In the US the spelling leans to girls; in Wales and much of Britain it is still firmly a man's name. A Morgan of either sex will meet people who expected the other.
- It is a heavily used surname too — think of firm names and the car marque — so it can read as a last name on a form until the first name is confirmed.
- The best-known bearer in older literature is Morgan le Fay, who moves from healer in the earliest text to antagonist in later Arthurian romance. Some people know that; most only half-remember it.
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 Madisson and Morgan 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 Madisson and Morgan?
Put both to the vote.
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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 Madisson and Morgan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Madisson or Morgan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Madisson or Morgan?
- Morgan, in 2025: Morgan ranked #312 with 977 babies; Madisson ranked #319 with 958 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Madisson or Morgan?
- Madisson. Over the last five years Madisson moved up 2,455 places; Morgan moved down 117 places.
- Which is the older name, Madisson or Morgan?
- Madisson entered the US charts in 1989; Morgan entered the US charts in 1918. On the American record, Morgan is the older name.
- How many people are named Madisson and Morgan?
- About 2,700 people named Madisson are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 221,000 people named Morgan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Madissons or Morgans in the classroom?
- Madisson will almost certainly be the only one in school. Morgan 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 Madisson, Morgan and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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