indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Feminine
Usage English, Literature
Other Forms FormsMady, Magda, Maidel, Maidie, Mayda, Maydena, Maydey, Maidy
Meaning & History
This name became popular after the Battle of Maida (1806), which took place near the Italian town of Maida and ended in a victory for Britain. In 18th- and 19th-century America it was used as a diminutive of both Madeline and Magdalena. It is also associated with the English word maid meaning "maiden, virgin, girl".This was the name of Sir Walter Scott's favorite dog, a male deerhound named after the Battle of Maida. It was also borne by the heroine of Inez Haynes Irwin's 19th-century Maida Westabrook series of children's books (now obscure).