Madden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Ireland 


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

Madden World Ranking

In the United States, the name Madden is the 943rd most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 5 However, in Australia, the name Madden is ranked the 486th most popular surname with an estimated 7,832 people with that name. 6 And in New Zealand, the name Madden is the 999th popular surname with an estimated 757 people with that name. 7 The United Kingdom ranks Madden as 924th 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
Madden Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Madden Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Madden migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Madden Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

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
Madden Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

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

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

Contemporary Notables of the name Madden (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Madden +
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