'Fortunate' is one possible direct interpretation of Madoc's name, but it might alternatively come from the saint's name Máedóc. There is some reason to think that this alternative is the correct one, because the name of Madoc's son Marmadoc comes from Máel Máedóc, 'devotee or follower of Máedóc'. The origins of the name Máedóc are complicated, deriving from Áed (literally 'fire', but used of the mythological Irish prince of the underworld). Máedóc is a diminutive form, so in this alternative sense we might interpret the name Madoc as 'little fire'.
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