Show ContentsFeder History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Feder family. The Feder surname evolved as a local name for a family that lived in Bavaria, where they made great contributions to the feudal society which would become the backbone of early development of Europe.

Early Origins of the Feder family

The surname Feder was first found in Bavaria, where the name could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the savage tribal and national conflicts, each group seeking power and status in an ever changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Feder family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Feder research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1590, 1623 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Feder History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Feder Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Feder include Feder, Federer, Fedder, Federr, Fehder, Fehdder, Feyder and many more.

Early Notables of the Feder family

Prominent among members of the name Feder in this period include

  • Georg Federl, who was knighted in 1623
  • his father, also named Georg Federl, was a wealthy Viennese merchant who purchased the estate Triebeswinkel in 1590

Feder Ranking

In the United States, the name Feder is the 8,395th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Feder migration to the United States +

Thousands of German settlers came to North America between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries. The hardships of the long voyage were balanced by the opportunity to escape poverty and religious persecution. The descendents of these settlers still populate the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also live in Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Feder or a variant listed above:

Feder Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Michael Feder, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1731 [2]
  • Johan Melchior Feder, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 [2]
  • Heinrich Feder, who settled in Maryland in 1759
  • Bernard Feder, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 [2]
Feder Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Kunig Feder, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1850 [2]
  • George Feder, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1852 [2]
  • Johann Feder, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1852 [2]
Feder Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • David Feder, who landed in Mississippi in 1903 [2]

Canada Feder migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Feder Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Helena Feder, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • Henrich Feder, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • John Feder, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757

Australia Feder migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Feder Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Heinrich Feder, aged 31, who arrived in South Australia in 1847 aboard the ship "Hermann von Beckerath" [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Feder (post 1700) +

  • Kenneth L. Feder, Professor of Archaeology at Central Connecticut State University
  • Judith M. "Judy" Feder, Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University
  • Norman Feder, American politician, Mayor of Southfield, Michigan, 1969-72; Resigned 1972 [4]
  • H. William Feder, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 36th District, 1980 [4]
  • Donald P. Feder, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 36th District, 1966 [4]
  • Johann Michael Feder (1753-1824), German Roman Catholic theologian
  • Johann Georg Heinrich Feder (1740-1821), German philosopher


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HERMANN VON BECKERATH 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847HermanVonBeckerath.htm
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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