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.