Meaning & History
The meaning and origin of the first element is rather uncertain: we know that it comes from mâtha but we don't exactly know where mâtha itself comes from. It is probably derived from Gallic matu "good" or from Anglo-Saxon maedh "honour, respect." It might also be a blend of one of the aforementioned elements with mahti "power" or Gothic mathl "meeting place." The second element in this Germanic name is derived from Old High German fridu "peace."