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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Dutch : from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements mōda ‘courage’ + heri, hari ‘army’.
  • Slovak and Polish : from Middle High German māder ‘reaper’.
  • Polish : from Middle Low German moder ‘mother’, ‘womb’, or ‘mare’.
  • Slovenian : nickname for a wise man, from the adjective moder ‘wise’, ‘prudent’.
  • Swedish (Modér) : ornamental name, probably from mo ‘sandy heath’ + the surname suffix -(d)ér, derived from Latin -(d)erius.

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