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Maddox Surname Meaning & Origin

What the Maddox last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.

Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Maddox coat of arms for you.

Meaning and origin of the Maddox last name

Meaning of the Maddox last name: son of Madog. Maddox is a Welsh surname meaning "son of Madog", an old Welsh first name perhaps linked to a word for "fortunate" or "good". Madog was a favourite name among the princes of Powys, and the last name spread into Herefordshire and Shropshire. A curious detail of this family name meaning: Welsh legend tells of a Prince Madog who sailed west and reached America long before Columbus.

Arms associated with the Maddox name

Welsh heraldry often looks back to the old princes and their lands, and coats of arms associated with the Maddox surname belong to that tradition, each set out in a short blazon.

Get your full Maddox family history

This is only a glimpse of the Maddox story. The full Maddox history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Maddox coat of arms. Get the full Maddox report.

Maddox name FAQ

What does the Maddox name mean?

Son of Madog. Common variants include Maddocks, Maddock, Mattox.

Where does the Maddox surname come from?

It originates in Wales, and is also found in the United States, England and Australia.

Is there a Maddox coat of arms?

Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Maddox coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.

Sources: Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames (Oxford University Press, 1988); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).