Given name & surname
Maud
“one who is mighty in battle”
Maud is a medieval form of Matilda with both royal and poetic associations.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Maud carries the interpretation “one who is mighty in battle.” Maud is a form of Matilda. One German interpretation is “one who is mighty in battle.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In English use, Maud is used as a form of Matilda.
The story
The family of forms includes Maud and Matilda, names borne by prominent medieval royal women. Alfred Tennyson’s poem Maud, published in 1855, later helped renew interest in the shorter spelling.
Maud through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,190
- 31 boys · 13,159 girls
- Most popular year
- 1886
- 483 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 478 in 1886. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,282 as a first name in 2020; 126 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Maud’s family of names
In French usage, Maud has a diminutive in Maude. In English usage, Maud shares an earlier linguistic root with Matilda. Maud has a related form in Maudie.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Maud has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
11 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Maddisondiminutive · English
- Maudevariant · French, English
- Mathildevariant · French
- Maudiepet form · English
- Maudyvariant
- Maudeavariant
- Maudeyvariant
- Maudeevariant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Maud
- Maud of WalesBritish princess (1869–1938), Queen consort of Norway from 1905 to 1938
- Maud AdamsSwedish actressborn 1945
- Maud MentenCanadian physician and chemist (1879–1960)
- Maud LewisCanadian artist (1903–1970)
- Maud WatsonEnglish tennis player1864–1946
- Princess Maud, Countess of SoutheskBritish princess; youngest child of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, and Louise, Princess Royal (1893–1945)
- Maud WagnerAmerican circus performer and tattoo artist1877–1961
- Maud OlofssonSwedish politicianborn 1955
- Maud Angelica Behneldest child of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Ari Behnborn 2003
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Maud, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Meta
Meta is used as a given name and a surname. Meta is connected with Margaret.
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