MovieChat Forums > Splash (1984) Discussion > Introduction of the name Madison

Introduction of the name Madison

posted 16 years ago by KateBeth
4 replies | jump to latest

I am pretty sure that this movie was where the name Madison even came into existence, at least for a female. As they were walking down Madison Avenue, and Darryl Hannah heard him mention the name and said she liked it, Tom Hanks' character said "No, that isn't a name". Of course, that was the name she chose. Nowadays, the name Madison is so overly popular it is rather annoying. I remember watching this movie and loving the name, and thinking it fit her perfectly.

It is neat how a name can come into the public consciousness and become, literally, a household name.

This movie was one of the best of all time.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MrsDean_Winchester 16 years ago

I've loved the name Madison (despite its popularity) since I saw this movie as a kid. Apparently when I was really little my mom brought me into work. When she introduced me to 2 co-workers and said, "This is my daughter Tiffany." I came back with, "My name's not Tiffany! It's Madison!" She was so embarrassed and she'll never forget it.

[–] esskayess 15 years ago

Call it "neat" if you like. I have a few less complimentary words I'd sooner use.

Often appalling the way the general public worships Hollywood by imitating it at every opportunity.

[–] Norm_uk 15 years ago

Madison is generally a family name (like James Madison, the forth president of the USA...Madison Avenue in New York is named after him). The Madison name has been in existence for hundreds of years before Splash was made.

As a first name it is exclusively masculine, meaning Mad's son (Mad was a short nickname for Matthew in the middle ages). It is in no way a girls name (clue, the end of the name is "son" not "daughter") and only became popular with girls after this movie...just goes to show how little we care about naming conventions despite millenia of fine names to draw upon.

Anyone who calls their daughter Madison does not know the difference between a girls name and a boys name - It's dumb and makes no sense outside of a pleasant movie about mermaids hehe.

N.