Madison

//ˈmædɪsən// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A particular line dance commonly danced to the Ike & Tina Turner song Nutbush City Limits.
  2. 2
    A track cycling relay race in which team members take turns while racing round the track for the largest number of laps, and exchange places with a team mate by means of a touch, which may be a push or a hand-sling.
  3. 3
    Alternative spelling of madison. alt-of, alternative
  4. 4
    A form of line dance.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    An English surname originating as a matronymic; (US politics) used specifically of James Madison (1751–1836), a Founding Father and fourth president of the United States. countable, uncountable

    "Clearly quite a number of past chief executives would have been TV washouts. Jefferson, for example, is acknowledged to have been a terrible public speaker, Madison an unimpressive little man in voice and appearance."

  2. 2
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; The capital city of Wisconsin, United States, and the county seat of Dane County. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city in Alabama. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city in Arkansas. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A census-designated place in Yolo County, California; named for Madison, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
Show 25 more definitions
  1. 6
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in Connecticut. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Madison County, Florida. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Morgan County, Georgia. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city in Madison County and St. Clair County, Illinois. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A minor city in Greenwood County, Kansas. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in Maine. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota; named for Madison, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city in Mississippi. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city in Missouri. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Madison County, Nebraska; named for its county, itself for James Madison. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in New Hampshire. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A borough in Morris County, New Jersey. countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in New York and a village within that town. countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in North Carolina. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A village in Ohio; named for either James Madison or Madison, Connecticut. countable, uncountable
  17. 22
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A borough in Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
  18. 23
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Lake County, South Dakota; named for Madison, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  19. 24
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town, the county seat of Madison County, Virginia; named for the landowning Madison family, of which James Madison is a descendant. countable, uncountable
  20. 25
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A city, the county seat of Boone County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
  21. 26
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A town in Wisconsin, adjacent to the city of Madison (listed above). countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    A locale in the United States; all named for James Madison unless otherwise indicated.; A number of townships in the United States, listed under Madison Township. countable, uncountable
  23. 28
    A river in Wyoming and Montana, United States; named for James Madison. countable, uncountable
  24. 29
    A male given name transferred from the surname. countable, uncountable
  25. 30
    A female given name transferred from the surname, popular since 1984 when it appeared as the name of a mermaid in the film Splash. countable, uncountable

    "Vanessa likes the ultrapopular Madison as a girl's name, which tells you everything you need to know about her personality."

Synonyms

All synonyms
capital of wisconsinpresident madison

Example

More examples

"The street is named for President Madison."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Usually derived from Mathieson (Matthew + -son), occasionally from Middle English Maddy (“Maud”) + -son. In the movie Splash, its use as a given name derives from Manhattan’s Madison Avenue.

Etymology 2

The cycling race is named after the original Madison Square Garden in New York, where the first such events were held. The dance is reportedly named after Madison Avenue, also in New York.

Related phrases

Fort MadisonMadison CountyMadison HeightsMadison Parishboone countycounty seatdane countyjefferson countylac qui parle countylake countyline dancemadison county

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.