Shive's parents were "intentional future community" people; her mother called her Running Pony until she was about six years old, and regularly changed her name. Shive eventually chose one of them, Madigan, as her permanent name when she was a teenager. The family lived in a teepee in Washington for about two years when she was a child, and moved often. She learned to play cello from age nine."Bio/Herstory", Madigan Shive. Accessed 26 June 2014.
