Family name origins & meanings
- Probably an Americanized form of Portuguese Madeira.
- Possibly also an altered form of the Latvian family name Madara, from the personal name Madari, Madara, based on the name of a wild plant.
- This surname is recorded in VA at an early date. In 1658 Domingo Madoras (also spelled Maderas and Mederis) was a witness to a deed, and in 1668 he received a land grant in New Kent Co., VA. He died in or before 1687, whereupon there was a dispute over the inheritance of his land.