Mader
A surname that likely began as an occupational name for a mower or cutter of grass.
The #6,288 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,817 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical reading treats Mader as an occupational surname from Middle English madder, meaning a mower. In older records it appears alongside forms like Madderer and Maderman, suggesting a person identified by the work of mowing or cutting. Some 19th-century writers also linked it with the earlier trade-name pattern that produced many occupational surnames ending in -er.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English sources, including a 1417 reference to Mathew le Madder in Lancashire. Later writers noted that the surname could be shortened from fuller occupational forms such as Madderer, which helps explain the modern spelling Mader. It remains relatively uncommon in the United States today.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A historical note from the sources suggests that the surname may once have been closer to the everyday word for a mower than to any family name form we use now.
From the historical record
“KILNER, a lime-burner. MADER or MATHER, a mower. On August 16, 1417, was served a writ to the Sheriff of Lancashire to arrest Mathew le Madder, husbandman. Cotton Mather must have descended from a mower. NUTTARD, probably NEATHERD. OYSELER, a professional bird-catcher ; hence Whistler and Oseler. PADMAN, PEDLAR…”
— Family Names and their Story