This is a patronymic i.e. "the son of Madder", itself a metonymic occupational name for a dyer with, or seller of madder, deriving from the Medieval English "mad(d)er" meaning a dark red dye obtained from plant roots. It is also possible that Madder was given as a personal nickanme to one of ruddy complexion, from the same word used here in a transferred sense. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Jacobus le Madur appears in the 1275, Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire and a Thomas le Mademan in the 1293 "Calendar of Letter Book for the city of London". On February 2nd 1685 one, John Madders appears on a list of convicted rebels in Dorchester Gaole awaiting transportation to the Barbados. The final "s" on the name indicates the patronuymic and is a reduced form of "son of". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Mader. which was dated 1221, The Pipe Rolls of Norfolk. during the reign of King Henry III, The Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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