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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • South German, Alsatian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic) : occupational name for a tanner or leatherworker, Middle High German lēderære, German Lederer.
  • The first known immigrant bearing this name, John (Johannes) Lederer, was a traveler and explorer who came to VA from Germany in 1668. He was ill-treated by the inhabitants of VA and fled for his life to MD, where he was naturalized in 1671.

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