Mader Family History

English: variant of Madder an occupational name for a dyer or seller of dye from Middle English mader madour mather shortened forms of Middle English maderer maderour matherer ‘seller of madder’ or ‘dyer who used madder’. Mader or mather (Old English mædere Old Norse mathra) was the name for the plant Rubia tinctorum used medicinally and for making red dye.

It was also a word for red dye made from other sources. Compare Mather. German and Swiss German (also Mäder) Dutch and French (Lorraine): occupational name for a reaper or mower Middle High German māder mæder Middle Dutch mader.

Compare Moder. French: metonymic occupational name for a carpenter from Occitan madier ‘beam’.