Addison, a TV-generated name (Dr. Addison Shephard, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice) took off in hot pursuit of predecessor Madison, sounding sharper and more modern--at least until its own rapid climb up the ladder. Addison, one of the few patronymics ('son of') names to be totally accepted for girls, is now near the top of the girls' charts and is among the most popular of the popular girl names starting with A. You can think of it as a more contemporary Allison or a gender-neutral (in feel if not in practice) version of the popular Adeline and Adelaide. Nickname Addie makes it feel cute and traditions, but given all the Ad-beginning names trending for girls, there are a lot of little Addies around.