Madden
An Irish surname usually understood as descending from O’Madaidhin, a diminutive of a word for “dog” or possibly “wolf.”
The #982 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,712 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally traced to Irish Gaelic O’Madaidhin (or a closely related form), with the personal name based on madaidh or madadh, meaning “dog,” plus a diminutive ending. In older surname books, the name is sometimes glossed as “dog” or “hound,” and one source suggests a link to “wolf,” but the dog-based explanation is the standard one. The prefix O’ marks descent from an ancestor bearing that name.
History
The Madden family name is associated with an Irish sept long connected with County Galway, especially the barony of Longford, and also appears in other parts of Ireland. Anglicized spellings such as Madden and Maddin became established in English records over time. The surname is now found well beyond Ireland, especially in the English-speaking world through migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers debated whether the root meant “dog” or “wolf,” showing how much older Irish names could be read in more than one way.
From the historical record
“MACEY}='«^^^«y'q-^; MADDEN \ (Celt.) DoG,HoUND [Ir.Madadhan MADDIN J — madadh, a dog + the dim. suff. -dn} MADDICK \ (Cfelt.) Goodly, Beneficent , MADDOCKJ [Wei. forms Madawc, Madog; Wei, madog, goodly — wad, good] ,, Madawc \he son of Maredudd [Mere- dith] possessed Powys within its bound- aries, from Pprfoed to…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)