Dutch surnames: history, meaning and origin

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

In any team you can meet a person with an unusual, strange or very funny surname. As a rule, its origin depends on the specific traditions of the country in which its owner was born. For example, Dutch surnames are considered among the funniest in the world. Find out why in this article.

Surname: from birth and for life

The very word "surname", so familiar to us today, comes from ancient Roman. This word denoted a large and strong family with a man at the head. Then the ancient Romans included in the concept of the family, by the way, and slaves serving the owners. In Russia, the rules were almost the same: before the abolition of serfdom, the peasants had the same surname as the landowner.

In our time, without a surname, nowhere - it is given to us from birth and most often remains with us for life. Except in special cases, of course.

History of funny Dutch surnames

Dutch surnames are considered the funniest in all of Europe, and there is a perfectly reasonable historical explanation for this. When the nation was conquered by Napoleon in 1811, he issued a decree according to which, forcibly, every inhabitant of the Netherlands was obliged to acquire a French surname.

The Dutch themselves, who before that had only names, were not going to obey the law. And since they believed that the occupation of the country was only a temporary measure, they decided not to bother themselves and not puzzle over inventing surnames. And the freedom-loving people were not at all opposed to mocking the invaders.

So there were absolutely stupid surnames that it was simply impossible to pronounce without laughter. For example, Naaktgeboren, which literally means "born naked." Or Piest ("pissing"). There were also entire family branches under the surname Rotmensen - translated from Dutch, “rotten people.”

After a few years, the war with Napoleon ended, and the people of the country became independent again. However, contrary to expectations, the law was never repealed. So the heirs of these people have to bear dissonant surnames to this day. But they are rightfully considered the most original in the world.

What does "van" mean in Dutch surnames?

Recognition of the generic names of the inhabitants of the Netherlands is given by their unique prefixes: "van", "de", "van der" and others. Thanks to this, Dutch surnames are so widely known abroad. For example, they are very popular in the USA.

For many Americans, Dutch surnames are automatically associated with prestige and high we alth. Basically, due to the fact that the rich industrialists were from the Netherlands. Take Cornelius Vanderbilt, for example. But his last name, despite the beautiful sound,the most that neither is, ordinary. There was such a town near Utrecht, it was called Bilt. And the surname Van-der-Bilt (Vanderbilt) means a native of this town, that is, one who comes from "Bilt".

The Germans also have a memorable prefix von, indicating the aristocratic status of the wearer. But the Dutch version of van is much more prosaic, and there is no social status behind it.

The prefix "van" is usually written by the inhabitants of the Netherlands with a small letter (the exception is in the initials or the beginning of a sentence), but abroad it can be found written with a capital letter.

The most popular Dutch names

In general, the Netherlands is a state, although small, but very socially saturated. Proximity to Belgium and Germany, a rich ethnic and religious composition, several indigenous groups of the population - all this cannot but influence Dutch names and surnames.

If you want to know everything about the names in this country, it is worth visiting the local Social Security Bank. In addition to its main task - to insure the population against all kinds of disasters, this structure also deals with statistics on the names of residents.

Once every three months, bank employees post lists of the most popular names - male and female - on the official website. You can also notice a trend of decrease or increase in the popularity of each name, compared to the previous period. For any name, you can find complete information, including its origin, etymology, correspondences in other languages and famouscarriers.

It is curious that you will find information on names only in the Dutch version of the site. Although it itself is available in many languages, including English, German, French and Spanish. But you still need to understand Dutch to know the most popular Dutch names and surnames.

Male names, for example, Daan, Sem, Lucas, Milan, Thomas are found almost everywhere. And if we talk about popular women's, then these are Emma, Julia, Sophie, Lotte, Lisa and Anna.

Origin of Dutch surnames

Today, almost any Dutch surname can be classified into one of four categories of origin: geographical, professional, descriptive or family:

Surnames are widespread, which are derived from the region in which its carrier lives or his ancestor once lived. For example, de Vries. Sometimes this is not even just a region, but a specific estate or place where a person worked - van Aller or van de Vliert (literally "originating from the farm")
Another example of a typical surname is by profession. For example, Haak means "peddler", Kuiper - "cooper", and with de Klerk everything is clear - the person worked as a clerk.
The third group of surnames came from certain physical characteristics of a person or the properties of his character. For example, Dik means "fat" and de Groot means "big". Not everyone is lucky with a last name, what can I say.
The last group of surnames is connected with the origin of its carrier and conveys family ties. Addicksmeans nothing more than "son of Addik", and Evers - "son of Ever". That is, a kind of patronymic - an analogue of what we wear in Russia.

Interesting facts about Dutch surnames

Men's Dutch surnames, like ours, are given once and for life. When a girl gets married, she has a choice. She can either keep her surname, or combine it with her husband's surname, turning it into a double one. Many prefer the first way, if the groom's surname is too dissonant.
There are over one hundred thousand original Dutch surnames. And many of them you won't find anywhere else.
The surname de Jong means "young" and is often given to the youngest family member of the same name. Whereas the analogue de Oude "senior" is much less common. It is understandable - it is not customary to call someone who already has a specific surname a new name, just because a new member has appeared in the family.
The most popular Dutch surnames are de Jong, de Vries, Jansen, van de Berg, Bakker, van Dijck and Visser.