Did “Splash” Popularize the Name Madison?

Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks walk by Madison Ave. in the move “Splash.”

Is the Movie Splash Responsible for the Name Madison?

Before the movie “Splash” featured a mermaid named Madison, it was not a mainstream name. Many credit the 1984 movie directed by Ron Howard as popularizing the name Madison.

How did the name Madison become popular?

Madison is a last name, the name of city and famously the name of an avenue in New York city. How did it become a popular first name? Enter Splash.

Tom Hanks plays Allen Bauer who is infatuated with a woman who learned to speak English while watching TV at a department store and who doesn’t have a first name. Well, she does have a first name but one that breaks television sets because of it’s dolphin-like squeal.

Allen sets out to find her a name he can pronounce. While rattling off first names “Jennifer…Joanie…Linda…” he wonders out loud “Where are we?” followed by “Madison” as they are approaching Madison Avenue.

The woman says “Madison’ I like Madison.”

“Madison’s not a name,” Allen tells her.

And that’s how it all began. It started as a joke, a movie character choosing a famous avenue for a name, and turned into a super popular name.

In 1985 the name started to increase in popularity. It took some time to get in the top 5, which it did in 2000 and stayed there for eight years.