The origin of your Dutch surname
The Meertens Institute is an institute that researches Dutch language and culture. They are also doing research into the origins and development of surnames in the Netherlands, and have published a large database of surnames and their meanings and origins.
If you want to know the meaning of your Dutch surname, have a look in their Database of Surnames. Click the British flag to get the search interface in English. The search result will still contain some data in Dutch, though.
The search results may contain an explication of the origin of the name, bibliographical references, specific name characteristics and components, lists of name variations and names with similar meaning, and the distribution of the name over The Netherlands in 1947.
Labels: Dutch names
By Henk van Kampen on Monday, 21 August 2006
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95 Comments:
I am trying to determine the meaning of the Guisbert or Guisbertson surname. This name later became Gilbertson and Giberson during the colonial period in America. The Guisbertsons (Gibersons) came to New Jersey in the early 1600's (1635?) and settled in the Port Republic area near Atlantic City. According to direct descendents still living in Port Republic, the name is Dutch. I learned this after I had spent my first 40 years being told by my family that we were Swedish. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
I don't think Guisbert is a Dutch name, but there are several similar Dutch names, like Gisberts, Gilberts, Gijsberts or Gijsbertsen. These are patronymic names, e.g. Gijsbertsen means "son of Gijsbert".
I read in a pulitzer prize comprehensive history book written by a Catherine somebody that the first "French pope" was a Geisbert. Perhaps after the Hugenot persecutions some emigrated to Dutch Reformed Holland, and became "Guisberts"
I was at a RV rental place in Denver and the girl at the counter excitedly greeted me, thinking I was Dutch. She was from Holland and informed me that Guisbert was a common name in Holland.
I kind of put this possibilty together because I have a summer home in Ontario and I have been told by numerous people they know "Guisberts" and that they are French speaking.
Ultimately, Guisbert may be French!
"uis" is often used in the French language, as is "ert" at the end of words and names.
Some food fo thought!
Her name wasn't Catherine. It was Barbara Tuchman,and the book was "A Distant Mirror", it covered the history of the 14th century.
A few minutes on the internet cleared that up for me! It was fun!
I need to know the meaning of Stolk. I need to know asap. I know that it is dutch and possibly german too, but no where have I been able to find the meaning of it.
The origin of the name Stolk is uncertain. Stolk may be a shortened form of Stolwijk, which is a Dutch village in the province Zuid-Holland.
See Stolk, Stolker and Stolwijk in the Dutch surname database (in Dutch).
Some of my Dutch surnames are:
Van Oblinis
Corsi
Cray
Van Campen/Kammpen
Corszen
Christiaens
Simons
Van Garden
You have Van Kampen ancestors, Cheryle? Me too;-)
Hi. I am trying to find the origin of the surname van de Rest?
Curiously, as a child, I was always told by my grandparents that our family had Dutch and Swedish roots. And that may yet be true. However, I have since discovered that the surname 'Giberson' has existed in Northern England and South western Scotland for centuries, even before the discovery and subsequent colonisation of the Americas. I theorise that due to the great numbers of 'British' Gibersons in southeastern New Jersey, the Dutch Guisbertsons and Scandinavian Giversens (Give is a county in Denmark) anglicised their names to Giberson in order to assimilate into the predominately English and Scots-Irish community. The Dutch pronunciation of Guisbertson would sound more like Hüspert-zawn than Gize-bert-sin and thus rather foreign to English ears. Therefore, it may be that there are many genealogically unrelated lines of Gibersons throughout the United States.
-Jersey Giberson
Hi
My maiden name was de Vroome and I know that it was my great great grandad who moved from Holland to England in the late 19th Century.
I would love to know the origin of the name.
Hi Sue,
De Vroome means The pious. According to the Meertens Institute, there were 309 De Vroomes in The Netherlands in 1947, 106 of them in the province Noord-Holland.
Hey there. I've been told that my last name is Dutch but I can't seem to confirm that fact for sure cause for one thing, the name Westenra is not listed in the Meersten Institute database, and second the internet is telling me that it could be Irish but I'm certain that I'm part Indische Nederlander though. Most of my ancestors were of Dutch decent. Could someone please help me out with this cause I've been researching my last name for a while now and the best historical information on the Westenra name that I've encountered states that it's the surname of the Rossmore Barons, a major landowning family in Ireland. It also states that the last name is Dutch, derived from "Westenraggah". I would love to ask my parents but shame the fact that we're no longer talking so further detailed information on my roots I would find greatly comforting. Dank je wel Schatjes! Doei! x
HI am researching my family roots for medical reasons, I am told my gramdmother was dutch. Her last name was Keaton. Every website takes me to England ..why? Were keatons settlers in England?please let me know Thanks
Keaton is an English name, not Dutch. Try to find out where your grandmother came from, if she was really Dutch.
"Westenra" is not a Dutch name, but "Westera" is. I expect your family name changed slightly after your ancestors left Holland.
Dank je wel Henk! Appreciate you helping me out! One last thing though, is there a meaning behind the Westera or Westra name? x
Browsing through Meertens, it seems that Westra is either a patronym ("son of Wester") or a toponym ("from WestXXX"). Westera is probably a toponym, this name probably originated in the province Overijssel.
I've noticed Dutch surnames revolve around patronymics and place names, also professions. Also, didn't the Dutch refuse to use surnames until Napolean made them register, and that's where we get some of the names from? My surname is DeGraff->Dijkgraaf. As far as i understand it has to do with a position or job. Currently what information i've gathered has my oldest paternal ancestor as a Krijn Dijkgraaf about 1620 in Oudenhoorn. Most of the relatives lived in the same region and other provinces close by. In an instance like this is there any way of knowing what possible surname they may have had before? And since it seems they didnt like to use surnames before the enactment from Napolean, how difficult is it traced back ancestry beyond that? Anyway for getting data that may help? Websites? Anything? Most things seem to turn up virtually nothing. All in all i think it will be interesting to get my Y-DNA results just to see how it plays out. I'd assume I'm of Germanic stock, but you never know. Maybe Frisian? Plus it's a coastal region so I'm sure there have been tons of ethnic groups flooding in and out of region that is the Netherlands. Do people from the Netherlands tend to be Germanic,Scandanavian,Celtic?
@Pete: many of the Dutch already used surnames before Napoleon was even born, but after Napoleon everybody needed to use surnames. Even before Napoleon people used patronymics as their surname (meaning...they already had a surname for some generations that used to be someones first name). The origins of most names are either patronimic, location (town, piece of land, description), profession, nicknames
Surnames were already common long before Napoleon. Only in rural areas in the north and east were surnames still rare.
Napoleon's laws (including the surname requirement) were introduced here in 1811. Pete's ancestor Krijn Dijkgraaf already used a surname in 1620.
guisbert means lone shepard
might anybody have an idea as to the etymology of the surname "Pothoven"? i'm a 3rd gen american, and know my heritage up to the early 17th century, but nobody seems to know what pothoven means literally in English. my opa says that hoven is an open area or something and pot is pot, but this doesn't seem to help. sloppy translation pages say it's something like 'courts of pot' but i'm skeptical. might anybody be able to shed some light on my name in a way that makes sense? it's worth noting that there are an immense amount of Pothovens in southern Holland, which strikes me as sort of the american version of "Smith."
I'm looking for the meaning and origin of the Katsma surname, any information would be great.
hi im searching high and low for the meaning and origin of the surname LOURENS - from what ive found it is said to derive from the dutch, scottish and even spanish. can anyone help me?
many thanks
Katsma was probably a place in or near Friesland, or maybe the name of a house: In 1723 married Geertje Claases, from Catsma, in Anjum (Friesland). Source: Tresoar.
The earliest references to the Katsma/Catsma name that I could find in Tresoar are a few baptisms of children of Claas/Klaas Catsma/Katsma in Anjum, just after 1700 (Geertje Claases may well have been a daughter of this Claas Catsma), and the marriage of Hylkje Catsma in Leeuwarden (Friesland) in 1700.
Lourens is a Dutch first name, and also a surname (a patronymic).
I don't know anything about Scottish or Spanish names, but it is quite possible that the name Lourens exists in other countries as well. If someone has the surname Lourens that does not prove s/he is from Dutch descent. To prove that you will have to research his/her ancestors.
I am hoping someone might know the origin of the surname Strijker. I had read it might mean "to iron" or "iron out differences." Our family is from Groningen (Midwolda and Winschoten).
Hi,
my surname is Gaag and I've been trying to find the meaning of my surname, but can't find it..
Can anyone help?
Thanks
Chris
hi does anyone know if the name albertous coorey is dutch and if so what would be the proper spelling,know albertous was called peter in uk. many thanks.
hi trying to find out if albertus cui is a dutch name and if so what is the meaning any help is much appreciated
thanks.
More on the names Strijker and (van der) Gaag on my latest blog post.
I am looking for information on the VanMeveren family name. I have traced it back to 1847 when the came to the port of Baltimore, but can not find anything more before they came to America.The father of the family that came here is Pieter VanMeveren and his father was Aart Ruthsz VanMeveren. Can anyone provide any other information, or suggest where to go next? Thank you!
Hi,
Some of the Dutch origin names like VanMeveren are written in the Netherlands as Van Meveren (separate words). The first word then often gives a clue to the meaning of the name. 'Van' means 'from' (so these are usually toponyms), 'de' means 'the' (usually refer to a profession or chracter trait), 'van der' and 'van de' mean 'from the' (usually refer to a place or a house)
Hi i would like to know the meaning of the name Borgh, they were born in holland and moved to australia when they were very young i would really love to know the meaning
Hi, I'd appreaciate it if anyone knows what my last name(Hooijer) is. I cannot seem to find it wherever I seem to look; however, I know it's Dutch.
My last name is Oosting, and I have always been close to my grandparents who are both from the Netherlands. What does it mean?
I am trying to find the meaning of the Buckner surname,which I hear that it is Dutch! Any help would appreciated. Thanks
Buckner is German, not Dutch.
In the Readers' questions column on this blog I discussed the surnames Borgh, Hooijer, and Oosting.
Our surname was Stiver or Steiver and it turned to Stevers. Wondering if there are others related to Martin D. Stevers b.1832 Whitehall New York d.Woodstock ILL. A stuiver was a 10 cent piece.
@ Borgh
Hello, I am from the Netherlands and I would like to answer your question.
The name Borgh has two meanings;
- First I would think of the word for a small castle in the Province of Groningen like Menkemaborg. (Borgh with an H is quite oldfashioned)
- Second a Borg is someone who guarantees that a debtor will pay his debt to the creditor.
On this website you can see how the name is spread in The Netherlands
http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?gba_lcnaam=borgh&gba_naam=Borgh&nfd_naam=Borgh&operator=eq&taal=
Oosterling means something like from the east.
@Lourens I am from the Netherlands and Lourens is a common Dutch name meaning son of Lourens. Here is a link:
http://www2.tresoar.nl/genealogie/naamsaanname/toonna.php?inv=29_37&mairie=Kollum&folio=44&verso=&achter=ja
@Lourens another link:
http://www2.tresoar.nl/genealogie/naamsaanname/toonna.php?inv=29_26&mairie=Wolvega&folio=50&verso=v&achter=ja
Original files Familienamen 1811 on
"Buckner is German, not Dutch."
It's usually English, though there are rare instances in Germany (http://buckbd.com/genea/buckner.html).
Incidentally, Guisbert is the Francophone equivalent on Gijsbert. In French, if you want to have a hard 'g' sound, you spell it "gu", so you have forms like "Guilbert" & "Guisbert". If you see that spelling convention, there's a good chance they're from a French-speaking part of the Low Countries, basically Flanders. The variant "Giberson" is an anglicized phonetic spelling - that's very close to how "Guisbert" would be pronounced by most French speakers - Ghee-bayr.
Thanks to all who over the years have commented on my question about the origin of the name Giberson.
In 1992, I met with Gary Giberson, Mayor of Port Republic, NJ, who informed me with great confidence that the name was of Dutch origin. He indicated that the Dutch Gibersons came to the area in 1637. Gary lives on the property given to the Gibersons around 1680 by King George, after pledging fealty to England. See his statement on this at the following:
http://www.mayorgarysgarage.com/mayorgarysgarage.htm
Although there are English Gibersons, I still think it is originally Dutch, and came from Gijsbert (and variations) who are shown to have arrived in the New World from Amsterdam in the 1630's. The Giberson names I have seen as originating in the UK are from the early 1800's, which leads me to believe they were earlier immigrants from Holland.
My earliest confirmed relative is James Giberson, born 1750, of Monmouth, New Jersey. This family later moved to Ohio and then to Michigan, where I live.
Gijsbert is described as the Dutch form of the Latin Gilbertus, meaning "pledge-bright."
I could use some help with the Stivers/Stevers line living in Vermont and Whitehall New York. Benjamin Stivers, son Isaac Stevers born 1791. Thanks for any info,Laura Updike/Stevers ,Isaac's gggranddaughter. updikemail@gmail.com
Um, no one in the USA has my last name, Van Breukelen, and when i search it up on the internet, nothing helpful comes up~ so... what does it mean??
Breukelen is a Dutch town. Van Breukelen means from Breukelen.
I was wondering if beltman is a dutch last name.my grandpa and great-grampa came from holland just do not know which part any help would be great thanks
I am trying to figure out the meaning of Van Meveren. I know it means of the or from the but does anyone know of a town of Meveren or Mever? Closest I have found is a northern Belgian town by the name of Beveren
Beltman is a Dutch name, from the eastern part of The Netherlands (provinces Overijssel and Gelderland).
I think Van Meveren comes from Van Mever.
The name Van Mever was found in the village Noordeloos and the surrounding area (including first names you have in your tree, like Ruth, Aart and Pieter).
Example: Pieter van Mever, son of Aart van Mever, married Neeltje van den Berg in 1821 in Noordeloos. Pieter's brother Ruth van Mever married in 1830.
I don't know what "Mever" means, though.
Does the last name Benedyuk ring a bell to anything Dutch related?
Just wanted to know if the last name Benedyuk is a Dutch name? Or if anyone knows where it is from?
No, Benedyuk is not Dutch. See this list of names starting with bened-.
Hi Henk,
My Mother is 100% Dutch and her maiden name is Kamps. We heard a rumour that Dutch people with that last name are originally from Italy (which seemed a little far-fetched to us!) Is there any truth to that? Do you have any other information about the origin of this last name?
Thanks, Grace
The name Kamps is common in the eastern provinces in The Netherlands, especially in the province Drenthe. I expect that there are multiple unrelated families with the same name.
According to the Corpus of Family Names in the Netherlands, the name could be patronymic (i.e. Kamps means son of Kamp, where Kamp is a given name) or toponymic (i.e. the family is named after a place - maybe there was a farm with the name Kamps).
I doubt there is a connection with Italy.
The oldest Camps I found in Drenthe's church books is Willem Jans Camps, who married in 1671. Kamps I found first in 1724, when Jan Kamps was buried. The names Kamps and Camps were probably used interchangeably at the time.
Is there a way to trace my Dutch Stiver line to Holland when they sailed to America in 1664. What ship and harbor? I have traced it back to Benjamin Stivers born 1760ish &turned to Stevers with his son Isaac born 1791 married to Olive Murray living in Whitehall NY. Maybe the spelling was Stuyver. I know it ment a 10 cent coin Mrs.Stevers updikemail@gmail.com
My last name is Hougaboom. I would love to know more about it, and the dutch meaning behind it. I'd imagine it was adapted from other names, but have not been able to find anything out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Do you know the origin of the last name "Roefs"?
Roefs is probably patronymic, meaning son of Roe[lo]f. The name is found mostly in the eastern part of the province Noord-Brabant.
Hougaboom is probably an angliziced version of a Dutch name like Hooge(n)boom. The name means High Tree - probably your ancestor lived near a high tree.
I know that my last name is dutch, in America it was changed to Dykshoorn but my mother tells me it used to be spelled Dijkshorne an I found a map of the Netherlands and found a town. Is there any chance it had a meaning or is it just a town?
Hi - my maiden name is Buitendag - is there any Dutch reference to this surname if so what?
My maiden name is Prins. I know it's a very common Dutch surname and the meaning is obvious. I am just wondering why it is so common - why did so many take that as their surname? I doubt we're all related to royalty! Thank you.
I don't think your ancestor was a prince. But maybe he looked like a prince, or behaved as a prince, or worked for a prince, or worked for or lived in (or next to) an inn named "Prince of ...".
Good Day, I would like to find out the meaning and origin of the Keulemans surname - if anyone has any information, I would be most grateful if you would share it with me.
Kind Regards
Ashleigh Keulemans (South Africa)
According to the Meertens database, Keulemans can either be a patronymic name (derived from the first name Keuleman or Koleman, which is derived from the first name Kool or Kole, which is derived from Nicolaas), or it can be toponymic (derived from topographic names like Koel, Keule or Kuil).
source
I'm looking for the meaning of the surname Baar which I believe was actually DeBaar. They settled in the USA in Michigan.
pmsnds@bellsouth.net
The Meertens database has two possible meanings for De Baar. The Dutch word baar can mean (almost) nude (cf. bare in English), so De Baar could refer to e.g. a poor person who could not afford a shirt. The other possibility is that the name comes from de French de Bar, meaning from the (French) town Bar.
My Surname is van As, i have been told this means from ashes, can anyone confirm?
The literal translation of Van As is indeed "from ashes". But your name probably means "from [the town] As", or "from [the town] Asch". There are several towns and villages with the name As or Asch in The Netherlands and in Belgium.
I am trying to find Dutch links to my maiden name of Lanckmans (which can also be spelt Lanckman). I know that my grandfather came originally from Belgium, and that he was Flemish, but I have been told the name has Dutch origins. Thanks for any help.
Gerry
my maiden name is DeVore- and the family came here in 1710 but am certain the spelling has changed along the way...devoor? de boor? any ideas?
Hi,could anyone help me with the meaning of the name Barkema? My father in law is 89 and has always wanted to know. His father was John (J) Barkema from Ulrum Groningen b 1856 and mother Antje VanderPloeg from (?) T'zand Pro-Groningen (?)b 1858. Sorry for the misspells but that is what the words look like. I am also having a hard time finding thir parents!!
Hi Sandy,
I can't find anything about the origin of the name Barkema. The family seems to originate in Groningen. I did find your family, in Genlias:
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Jan Barkema, 25, born in Houwerzijl, son of Jacob Barkema and Martje Beukema, and Antje van der Ploeg, 22, born in 't Zandt, daughter of Jan van der Ploeg and Trientje Wierenga, married on 28 September 1881 in Ulrum, province Groningen.
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Jan Barkema, son of Jacob Barkema and Martje Beukema, was born on 7 January 1856 in Houwerzijl, municipality Ulrum, province Groningen.
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Jacob Kornelis Barkema, 30, born in Ulrum, son of Kornelis Jacobs Barkema and Anje Sijgers Bos, and Martje Kornelis Beukema, 22, born in Ulrum, daughter of Kornelis Allerts Beukema and Jantje Jans Drolinga, married 18 January 1844 in Ulrum.
Hi Laurel,
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Names like De Voor, De Vor or De Voer are all possible. In 1710 surnames were not required in The Netherlands, though, so it is also possible your ancestor adopted a surname in the new world.
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The name De Voor was already in use in New York in the 17th century: A child of David de Voor was baptized in the Collegiate Church of New York in 1662.
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You have to find your immigrant ancestor, and trace him to the old world to find out what his name was there.
Oh thank you,thank you!!!! Although I'm disappointed that you couldn't find the meaning of Barkema, I'm thrilled to learn of the parents and grandparents of Jan Barkema :) Jan and Antje did use the names of parents etc. for their children just as I've read about, as they used Jacob, Martje (Martha?)and Cornelius,Anne for 4 of their ten children. We understand that there was a daughter that either died in the Netherlands or on the ship coming over, 'Little Martha" as my father in law's Aunt Martha said she was named after -but we now do not have any type of confirmation to know for sure. They emigrated in 1883 - is there anything you can find out? The other children's names were Jacob,Kate,Elizabeth,John -died young in Grand Rapids MI, and Cornelius. The rest are Henry,Frank,Martha and Anne. They settled in G.R. Jan Barkema was a cobbler apprentice (of his father) in the Netherlands and also here in G.R. and Holland. I was also curious to see that there are 'Kornelis' on both the parents sides of Jan Barkema. Is that common? Thank you so much for your help!!!
Does anybody know where the surname holland derives from? i have irish and scotish heritage also my grandads whohas the name holland had a spanish mother. cheers
I don't know where the surname Holland originates, sorry. The name exists in several countries. I don't think it is related to the Holland region in The Netherlands.
Sandy: There is a lot of information on the Genlias website, just search it for Barkema.
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I found three children of Jan Barkema and Antje van der Ploeg: Jacob (17 December 1881), Trientje (23 December 1882), and Martje (9 February 1887).
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The family arrived with all three children at Castle Garden on 31 October 1887 (source: Castle Garden website), so I assume "Little Martha" was still alive when they arrived.
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Children of Jacob Barkema and Martje Beukema: Anje (23 April 1844, married Albert Bronkema in 1868), Kornelis (27 September 1846), Jantje (born 11 October 1849, died 4 November 1849), Jantje (8 September 1852, married Andries van Huis 1878, died 11 December 1889), Jan (7 January 1856, married Antje van der Ploeg 1881)
Does anyone know of a peasant named Stuijver that came to New Netherland
from Holland in 1664. He was placed on a bowerie near Albany NY. The name changed to Stevers along the way in Washington Co. NY. Any info would be cherished. Laura
I am trying to determine the meaning of my last name Suierveld. I can't seem to find it anywhere. I know my grandfather Louis Suierveld was from Holland.
I found the name Suierveld in the province Friesland. The Meertens website that I mentioned above does not have a clear meaning of the name, but seems to suggest it is derived from Zuiderveld, wich means South Field. So maybe your ancestors lived near (or on) a field named South Field.
I'm trying to figure out how Dutch names work, especially back in the late 1700's and earlier. In a lot of my lineage, many of the childrens' names do not line up with the fathers names. It's not a one time occurrence either, it is every generation! We have the last names:
Balk, Klaasens, Bulthuis, Jans ter Lip, Brondyke, Tel Pieters, Gaijkes, Ekkes, Buikema
We also have numerous first names we do not know such as:
Kornelske, Weike, Jacomina, Margien, Wijtske, Berentje, Bon, Hilbrand, and many more. Feel free to email me: katcoolman@gmail.com
Thank you so much!
Kathy: Usually, surnames worked the same as now, and were passed on in the male line.
In some regions, patronymic names were used as surnames. The sons of Jan Klaassens would use the surname Jansens, and not Klaassens (Klaassens = son of Klaas, Jansens = son of Jan).
In a few rural areas in the east, people used the name of the farm they worked on as surname. If they moved (e.g. found a new job), their surname would change!
There were more reasons why people sometimes had multiple surnames. Some people had both a family name and a patronymic surname, for example.
6293rtnerscMy brother in law's surname is Kicken. He has indicated to me that the family has also spelled it Kickken. I asked him what the name means and he indicated that "no one knows". He has lived in the United States for several decades but still has relatives in the Netherlands. He and I are both interested in the derivation of his name. Thank you for any assistance.
The surnames Kicken and Kickken are found in the province Limburg. The names are probably derived from the first name Kick.
I am trying to trace our roots but all I get is a big zero. Can any one help me in tracing the origin of our surname Gepty or Geeft is Dutch or not. Because our family history was lost on the death of the family patriarch.Any help would be
appreciated. Thanks
I am trying to trace our roots but all I get is a big zero. Can any one help me in tracing the origin of our surname Gepty or Geeft is Dutch or not. Because our family history was lost on the death of the family patriarch.Any help would be
appreciated. Thanks
Those names are not Dutch. But it is of course possible that the names were changed after immigration into the new world.
I did find a Michiel Geeft in Amsterdam between 1766 and 1780, though in other records his name is spelled Geef.
Hi, my grandparents' surnames were Ledeboer and de Gruijter which both come from the Netherlands, I'm told Ledeboer is a toponym with links to a place in Germany and de Gruijter is a professional name, related to brewing.
Neither seem to be too common, so I've had trouble tracing the links and would love to find out more.
Thanks!
I was wondering if the Post last name has Dutch origins. A family member thought it came from Holland. Thanks!
Greg, the names Ledeboer and De Gruijter are not too common, but they are not rare either. Are you trying to find out more about your grandparents, or are you looking for the meaning of the names?
Post is a common name in the Netherlands, so your Post family may have its roots here in Holland.
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