Contents [hide]

Madden History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Madden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Madden

What does the name Madden mean?

The surname Madden originally appeared in Gaelic as "Mac an Mhadaidh," which is probably derived from the word "madadh," which means "warrior, dog." 1

Another source claims the family claim descent through Owen Buac, brother of Owen Fionn, ancestor of O'Madadhain, of Connaught, slain, 1008; Anglicized O'Madden, Madden. The Madden family of Longford, County Galway, the O'Madden family of Balbriggan, County Dublin and the Madden family of Ulster are all branches of the original. 2

Alternatively, the name could have been from "descendant of little Matthew (gift of Jehovah.)" 3

Early Origins of the Madden family

The surname Madden was first found in County Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

We did find this interesting entry for the Mudrigan variant in the parish of St. Martin, Cornwall, England: "Although this parish contains no manor, Mudgian is said formerly to have had manorial rights, when it belonged to a family of this name, and was their seat. From the Mudgians it passed with an heiress in marriage to the Chynoweths." 4

Early History of the Madden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Madden research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1347, 1556, 1567, 1677, 1713 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Madden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Madden Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacAvaddy, Madden, O'Madden, Madigan, Macavadan and others.

Early Notables of the Madden family

Notable among the family name at this time was

John Ó Madden (died 1677), Chief of the Sept
Ambrose O'Madden (died 1715), an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Clonfert from 1713 to 1715

Madden World Ranking

In the United States, the name Madden is the 943^rd most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 5 However, in Australia, the name Madden is ranked the 486^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,832 people with that name. 6 And in New Zealand, the name Madden is the 999^th popular surname with an estimated 757 people with that name. 7 The United Kingdom ranks Madden as 924^th with 7,493 people. 8

Madden migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Madden Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ann Madden, who arrived in Virginia in 1662 9

Madden Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Will Madden, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 9
Edward Madden, who settled in New England in 1753

Madden Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Hugh Madden, aged 30, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 9
Mathew Madden, who landed in America in 1810 9
Edward Madden, aged 29, who landed in New York in 1812 9
Jane Madden, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 9
Mr. Campbell Madden, aged 26, Irish farmer who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina aboard the ship "Prince Leopold"on 15th November 1820
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Madden migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Madden Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Ellen Madden, aged 32, who arrived in Canada in 1823
Jeremiah Madden, aged 16, who landed in Canada in 1823
John Madden, aged 7, who arrived in Canada in 1823
Mary Madden, aged 9, who arrived in Canada in 1823
Thomas Madden, aged 5, who arrived in Canada in 1823
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Madden migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Madden Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Sarah Madden, (Madder), Irish convict who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 21st January 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. John Madden, (b. 1792), aged 28, Irish shoe maker who was convicted in Galway, Ireland for life for sedition, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1851 11
William Madden, English convict from Surrey, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 12
William Madden, a painter, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
James Madden, a weaver, who arrived in Van Diemenâ€™s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Madden Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

Mr. John P. Madden, (b. 1877), aged 23, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Jumna" arriving in Queensland, Australia on 20th November 1900 13

Madden migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Madden Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Samuel Madden, aged 23, a sawyer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Charles Madden, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Bollina
Mr. Michael Madden, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship "Tornado" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 26th September 1859 14
Miss Sarah Madden, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship "Tornado" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 26th September 1859 14
Mr. James Madden, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship "Tornado" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 26th September 1859 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Madden migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Madden Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Madden, who settled in Barbados in 1663

Contemporary Notables of the name Madden (post 1700) +

Joseph Warren "J" Madden (1890-1972), American lawyer, judge, civil servant, educator and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Ann Christine "Chris" Madden (1948-2022), née Casson, an American interior designer, television host, author, and businesswoman, founder and chief executive officer of Chris Madden Inc
John Earl Madden (1936-2021), American NFL coach and longtime football announcer winning 16 Sports Emmy Awards, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006
James Lester Madden (1909-1984), American silver and two-time bronze medalist figure skater
James Loomis Madden (1892-1972), American academic, Acting Chancellor of New York University from 1951 to 1952
Edward M. Madden (1818-1885), American merchant and politician who served in New York State Senate in the late 1800s
Edward Madden (1878-1952), American lyricist, known for his songs "By the Light of the Silvery Moon", "On Moonlight Bay", and many more
David Joseph "Dave" Madden (1931-2014), Canadian-born, American actor from Sarnia, Ontario, best known for his role as the group's manager in the 1970s sitcom, The Partridge Family
David M. Madden, American politician, 1st Mayor of Weymouth, Massachusetts
David Madden (b. 1933), American novelist, poet, and playwright
... (Another 71 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Madden family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Frank John Madden (d. 1914), British Assistant Steward from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 16
Mrs. Bertha Emma Madden (d. 1914), née Brown British Stewardess from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 16

HMS Hood

Mr. John F Madden (b. 1915), English Ordinary Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Rochdale, Lancashire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 17

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Thomas Madden, English Fireman from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 18
Mr. John Madden, English Fireman from Liverpool, England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking and was recovered 18

Victoria steamboat disaster

Elizabeth Madden, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881
Mary Madden, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881

Sources +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd June 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_queensland.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/