Madge
Feminine · “pearl”
Madge is a pearl, worn down by six centuries of English speech. Margaret gave Mag by clipping, and Mag was softened to Madge — one of the oldest short forms in the language still recognizable as a name.
How old is the name Madge?
Madge was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Madge alive today was born around 1919, making them about 106 years old. About 1,700 people named Madge are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Madge most popular?
Madge peaked in 1898, reaching #216 nationally. See the whole 1898 chart.
Where it comes from
From margarites to Madge
The story of Madge
Margaret was one of the three or four commonest women's names in England for six hundred years, and a name that common breeds short forms: Meg, Peg, Mag, Madge, Maggie, Marget, Margery. Madge is the softened form of Mag and was in ordinary use by the sixteenth century, appearing in Shakespeare as a common noun for a magpie as well as a name. American families registered it as a legal name and it peaked around 1920.
Meaning
pearl
From the Greek margarites, 'pearl', which Greek borrowed from an eastern language and passed to every European one. The pearl reading is old, transparent and undisputed, which is why medieval Margarets so often appear in art holding one.
How the name formed
- margarites
- Margaret
- Mag
- Madge
Related forms: Maggie · Margot · Grete · Margherita
Pronouncing Madge
MAJ
One syllable, soft g as in 'badge'. No variation between English accents.
Nicknames for Madge
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1917435 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #216reached in 1898
- Change vs 1981
- −37.5%5 in 2016, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Madge in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Maggie in Scottish — related form
- Margot in French — related form
- Grete in German — related form
- Margherita in Italian — related form
Madges among us
people named Madge are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Madge has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Margaret stands behind it as one of the deepest names in European history.
- One syllable, distinctive, and never mispronounced.
- The pearl meaning is transparent and undisputed.
- The link to Margaret is invisible without explanation.
- It is firmly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Madge
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Madges are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Madge are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Madge in 2025?
- Madge is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Madge with classmates?
- Madge will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Madge? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Madge and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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