Madera
A surname most likely connected with Spanish and Portuguese words for “wood” or “timber,” sometimes also taken from place-names.
The #3,705 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,218 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Madera is best explained from Spanish and Portuguese madeira/madera, meaning “wood” or “timber,” from Latin materia, “timber, building material, substance.” As a surname, it may have begun as a nickname or occupational name for someone associated with wood, carpentry, or timber trade. In some cases it may also be locational, from a place-name built on the same word.
History
The name appears in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas and also in the Americas through migration. Because the underlying word is common, the surname may have arisen independently in more than one family line. The historical excerpts provided do not give a full dictionary entry, but they do show the name in use in English-language surname lists.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish madera and Portuguese madeira are cognates of English ‘material’ through Latin materia, all ultimately tied to the idea of wood as raw building substance.
From the historical record
“Acebedo, El sitio o lugar plantado de acebos. Acebo. Arbol ilicíneo de madera dura. Aceda. Acido, áspero, que se ha acedido. Aceiton. Aceite gordo i turbio. Enfermedad de los olivos”
— Diccionario de los apellidos