Dutch names consist of one or several given name(s) and a surname. The given name, as (usually) in English, is gender-specific. Look up Appendix:Most popular given names by country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Dutch name related terms

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up Appendix:Most popular given names by country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ... // A nickname is a name of a person or thing other than its proper name. ... Christian name is a term more or less synonymous with forename or given name. It can be seen as an archaism due to the increasing secularisation of what were once compulsorily Christian societies, but it continues to be very widely used, and not just by practising Christians. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ...

Dutch given names

The given name is given to a child by the parents shortly after, or before, birth. It is common to give a child several given names, particularly among Catholics. Usually, one of them is meant to be for daily use. This is often underlined on official documents, as it is often the second or third christian or a totally different name not even related to the christian names. Look up Appendix:Most popular given names by country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A Christian () is a... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Dutch naming law

The Dutch naming legislation practically allows all given names unless they are too similar to an existing surname, or if the name is inappropriate. A limit of given names is unknown to the Dutch law, so in theory one could give a child an endless series of names. In the Netherlands however, five is usually the limit. Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ...

Also in Dutch tradition, marriage requires the female to drop her maiden name and take on the husband's name. The current Dutch law gives people more freedom: upon marriage, both partners keep their own surname, but are given the choice to use their partner's surname, or a combination of both. So if a person called Jansen marries someone called Smit, each partner has the choice to call his- or herself Jansen, Smit, Jansen-Smit or Smit-Jansen. The preferred option will be registered with the municipal registration, without giving up the right to use one's original name.

Parents can choose to give their children their father's name or their mother's, as long as the parents are married or are living together and the father has acknowledged the child. The surname of younger siblings has to be the same as the surname of the oldest child.

History of Dutch given names

The history of Dutch given names can roughly be divided in four main periods:

1. The domination of Germanic names. (Migration Period and before until the high middle ages)
2. The High middle ages, when Germanic-based personal names were losing ground to non-native holy names. (High middle ages until the Early Modern era)
3. A period of stability, when a very strong naming habit emerged. (Early Modern era–1945)
4. The post-World War II period, characterised by previously unknown personal names. (1945–Present)

Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ... The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies, between the Middle Ages and modern society. ... The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies, between the Middle Ages and modern society. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The present is the time that is perceived directly, not as a recollection or a speculation. ...

Germanic period

The Germanic names are the names with the longest history in the Dutch speaking area; they form the oldest layer of the given names known in Dutch. The Germanic names were characterised by a rich diversity, as there were many possible combinations. A Germanic name is composed of two parts. One part indicates the gender of the name, the other a charactaristic of the person. This way names like Adelbert or Albert are born, composed of "adel" (meaning "noble") and "bert" which is derived from "beracht" (meaning "bright" or "shining") hence the name means something in the order of "Bright/Shining through noble behaviour"; the English name "Albright", now only seen as a surname, is a cognate with the same origin). Combining these "parts" was used when the child was named after family or other relatives. For example the child would receive two parts from different family members, in this way a father named "Hildebrant" and a mother called "Gertrud" would call their son "Gerbrant" and their daughter "Hiltrud". HIStory - Past, Present and Future, Book I is a double-disc album (one half greatest hits, one half studio album) by American musician Michael Jackson released in June of 1995 by the Epic Records division of Sony BMG. The first disc, (HIStory Begins) contains fifteen hit singles from the past... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Mediæval names

In the course of the Middle Ages names derived from Saints are getting more common than their Germanic counterparts. From the 12th century onwards it became a custom that the child received a christian name, even though some christian names like "Gertrude" and "Hubertus" were in fact of Germanic origin. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Saint Gertrude of Nivelles (626 - March 17, 659) was abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Nivelles, in present-day Belgium. ... Saint Hubertus or Hubert (born circa 656 to 658, probably in Toulouse; died May 30, 727 or 728 in Tervuren near Brussels, Belgium), called the Apostle of the Ardennes was the first Bishop of Liège. ...

The direct influence of the church on the transition from Germanic to Christian names must not be overestimated. Before the council of Trent (1545–1563), the Roman Catholic church did not have any regulation of the practice of naming children. The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Events February 27 - Battle of Ancrum Moor - Scots victory over superior English forces December 13 - Official opening of the Council of Trent (closed 1563) Battle of Kawagoe - between two branches of Uesugi families and the late Hojo clan in Japan. ... Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... “Children” redirects here. ...

There are thought to have been a number of reasons why the christian names gained the upper hand, such as the crusades, the larger ecclesiastical influence and the appearance of mendicant orders (such as the Franciscans and Dominicans) and most importantly, the veneration of saints and the appearance of patron saints. But apart from the religious influence it is believed that fashion was the main reason to give one's child a christian name. With the emergence of flourishing cities all over the Low Countries, the citizens, especially the wealthy ones, were what we would call trend-setters in contemporary times. The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Roman Catholic Church... The mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on begging, or the charity of the people for their livelihood. ... Franciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. ... Veneration is a religious symbolic act giving honor to someone by honoring an image of that person, particularly applied to saints. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... Fashion illustration by George Barbier of a gown by Jeanne Paquin, 1912, from La Gazette du bon ton, the most influential fashion magazine of its era. ... Contemporary is an adjective which in its basic form merely means that two individuals, events or movements overlapped in time. ... A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In these times some "typically" Dutch names like "Kees" (Cornelius), "Jan" (Johannes) and "Piet" (Petrus) emerge. Cornelius (fem. ... Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning YAHWEH is gracious. In Germany the name Johannes is diminutized to Hänsel. ... Saint Peter, also known as Shimon Keipha Ben-Yonah/Bar-Yonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Keipha — original name Shimon or Simeon (Acts 15:14) — was one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose as his original disciples. ...

Stability

When the conversion was made from Germanic to Christian names, most parents just picked a name they liked best or would be most helpful in the child's later life, for example if the child would come from a butcher's family and he himself would one day become a butcher, the child would probably be called after "Sint Joris" (the Dutch name for "Saint George"), the patron saint of the butchers. “Children” redirects here. ... Butcher shop in Valencia A butcher is someone who prepares various meats and other related goods for sale. ... Saint-George is a municipality with 695 inhabitants (as of 2003) in the district of Aubonne in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...

The Dutch habit of naming newborns after another family member originates with an, at that time, widespread superstition that the name in some way contributed to some form of reincarnation of the person the child was named after, who was usually much older. This superstition disappears after some time, even though a certain Le Francq van Berkeij writes the following in 1776: "bij veelen, een oud, overgeloovig denkbeeld, dat iemand weldra sterft, wanneer hij, gelijk men zegt, vernoemd is." (many have a superstitious belief that a person will soon die when someone, as they say, has been named after him.) The number 13 is often avoided in public buildings, also floors, doors and this Santa Anita Park horse stall. ... Reincarnation, literally to be made flesh again, is a doctrine or mystical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. ... Year 1776 (MDCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

As the centuries passed, this practice became so standard that the names of the children were practically known at the marriage of the future parents. The rules for naming were the following:

1. The first son was named after the father of the father / The first daughter was named after the mother of the mother.
2. The second child's name depended on the fact whether the first-born child was a boy or a girl. If the first-born child had been a boy, the second child would be named after its mother's family, and after its father's family if the first born had been a girl.
3. The third and fourth-born children would usually be named after the grandparents who did not yet have a grandchild named after them.
4. If the grandparents already had grandchildren named after them, the children would be named after their uncles and aunts, starting at the fathers family.
5. If a child would die, the next-born child would receive its name.

Post-War period (1945+)

Traditionally there was little difference between the Christian name (doopnaam) and the name used in domestic spheres (roepnaam). If someone's Christian name was Johannes, domestically he was called Johan, Jan or Han. Christian name is a term more or less synonymous with forename or given name. It can be seen as an archaism due to the increasing secularisation of what were once compulsorily Christian societies, but it continues to be very widely used, and not just by practising Christians. ... Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan meaning YAHWEH is gracious. In Germany the name Johannes is diminutized to Hänsel. ...

After the war, the Dutch people became less religious; today the majority of the Dutch are non-practising Christians or atheists. Thus the Christian name and given name started to diverge, as personal names of foreign origin were adopted. A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... For the American magazine, see Foreign Policy. ...

Nearly half of Dutch children today receive one name, over 30% is given two names, 17% have three names, 2.5% get four names and only very few children have five or more given names.

Today traditional official names are found, but often only as an addition to the modern name.

Surnames

Many Dutch names start with a prefix like van ("of/from"), de/het/'t ("the"), der ("of the"), van de ("of the/from the"), and in het ("in the"). Examples are 't Hooft ("the head"), de Groot ("the big") , van Rijn ("from Rhine"); but be careful of such verb-derived names that end in -en that are often occupations, like van Bruggen ("bridge builder"). These prefixes are not spelled with a capital when used in combination with the first name, for example Piet de Groot. When written without first name, a capital is used, for example, Mr. Van Rijn. This capitalization practice is not uniformly followed outside the Netherlands; prefixes in most common Flemish names are always capitalized, though occasionally 'Van de' occurs whereas another family may have the otherwise identical name spelled as 'Van De'. The term Flemings (Dutch: ) denotes the majority population in Flanders (the northern half of Belgium). ...

When van is followed by the name of a place or area, this may (but does not always) indicate that a person belongs to the nobility (which does not have any special rights anymore today), such as Van Tuyll van Serooskerken. This usage exists also in Flemish names, though its nobility usually obtained the French prefix 'de'. In Flemish nobility names, the prefix is never capitalized. This results in people being very strict about whether the prefix in someone's should be capitalized or not, and in immigrants from the Netherlands always having an uncapitalized prefix. Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ...

In Dutch people's name directories, the prefixes are always ignored for sorting (e.g. Van Rijn is ordered under 'R'). A Dutch-language surname may often contain an article and/or a preposition, preceding the noun. Sometimes these have been merged with the name. Many Dutch surnames originated from different personal qualities, geographical locations, and occupations. However, Dutch names in English directories (e.g. reference lists of scientific papers) may be ordered on the full name including all prefixes (Van Rijn would be ordered under 'V'), partly because many Dutch emigrant families to English-speaking countries have capitalized their prefixes, like Martin Van Buren or Steve Van Dyck, and normal practise in English is to order on the first capitalized element.^[1] In Belgium, prepositions can be merged with the surname (such as Vandecasteele), or can be separate (Van De Casteele), and a few combinations occur (Vande Casteele), and all prefixes are always included for sorting. These variations indicate different families and not all names exist with several spellings. (More on this under Tussenvoegsels.) Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the 8th President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. ... Dr. Steve Van Dyck is the Senior Curator of vertebrates at Queensland Museum, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ...

History of Dutch surnames

Surnames were not required until 1811 when Napoleon had annexed the Netherlands. Since many Dutch people thought this convention would only be temporary, many deliberately chose confusing or comical names. For example: 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

Before 1811, those Dutch people who did have surnames often used their first name plus their profession, living area, or personal appearance. For example: Dutch (  ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 23 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... talea harris and sophie king are sluts In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjectives subject, giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to. ... In English, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... It has been suggested that Verbal agreement be merged into this article or section. ... talea harris and sophie king are sluts In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjectives subject, giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to. ... An adverb is a part of speech. ...

• Molenaar (meaning: "Miller")
• Timmerman (meaning: "Carpenter")
• De Groot (meaning: "The large one")
• De Lange (meaning: "The tall one")
• Korteweg (meaning: "living along the short road")
• Van Rijn (meaning: "living along the Rhine")

Names ending in the letter 'a', especially in suffixes like -ma, -stra or -inga, are usually of Frisian language origin. For other uses, see Miller (disambiguation). ... Carpenter at work in Tennessee, June 1942. ... It has been suggested that River Rhine Pollution: November 1986 be merged into this article or section. ... Frisian is a Germanic group of closely related languages, spoken by about half a million members of Frisian ethnic groups living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ...

Patronymics

More common than surnames before 1811 was the use of patronymics. Children even with established last names would also use a patronymic and often therefore received no middle names. The patronymic was based on one's father's name. The oldest form used the possessive of the father's name along with the word for son or daughter. Examples would be a boy born to Jan being named Pieter Jan's zoon while his daughter might be named Geertje Jan's dochter. These forms were also commonly shortened, to Janszn. and Jansdr., or to Jansse, and finally to Jans which could be used for both male or female children. These patronymic names were official and even used on legal documents where inheritances can be seen to pass from father to son with different "last names". Look up patronymic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

After 1811, many patronymics became permanent surnames such that Peeters, Jansen, Willems are common surnames today.

Most common Dutch surnames

To the right are two lists of the most common Dutch surnames in the Netherlands and Belgium, where Dutch also is an official and the most spoken language. Note though that these are only the most numerous; while Meertens' Dutch surname database[2] lists 68667 different family names, the total Dutch speaking population in Europe is estimated to be about 23 million people. The most common Dutch names in Belgium are nearly all "father-based" names in which they are composed with the following formula name of father + "-son", the only exceptions being "Maes" (Meuse) and "De Smet" (the Smith). The most common Dutch names in the Netherlands are more diverse, with names ranging from "Visser" (Fisherman) to "Van Dijke" (living along the Dyke) and "De Jong" (the young one). It should be remembered however that these figures are based on the data of an entire country, and on a smaller scale other names tend to dominate certain regions. The Dutch (Ethnonym: Nederlanders meaning Lowlanders) are the dominant ethnic group[1] of the Netherlands[2]. They are usually seen as a Germanic people. ... Meuse is a département in northeast France, named after the Meuse River. ... Look up smith, Smith in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A fisherman in central Chile A Long Island fisherman cleans his nets A fisherman (in recent years sometimes called a fisher to be non-gender specific), is a person who engages in the activity of fishing. ... Dikes — as in the phrase a pair of dikes — is jargon used especially in the electrical industry, to describe diagonal pliers. ... Look up Region in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Tussenvoegsels

A tussenvoegsel, in Dutch linguistics, is a word that is positioned between someone's given name and surname, but is still a part of someone's last name. A tussenvoegsel, in Dutch linguistics, is a word that is positioned between someones first name and last name, but is still a part of someones full surname. ... Dutch (  ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 23 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. ... Look up Appendix:Most popular given names by country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ...

In the Netherlands, the tussenvoegsels strictly speaking are not a part of someone's last name. For example, someone whose family name is "De Vries" isn't found at the letter "D" in the telephone directory but at "V". Tussenvoegsels are therefore also required to be listed separately in databases; another reason for this is that it makes finding someone's name relatively easy, as most Dutch prepositions start with the same letter. In the Netherlands, the tussenvoegsel is written with a capital letter if no name precedes it. So Jan de Vries (as Jan, is a given name meaning John), but: de heer De Vries (meaning mister De Vries) and de heer en mevrouw Jansen-De Vries, (Mister and madam Jansen-De Vries). Moscow phone book, 1930. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vintage German letter balance for home use Look up letter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The word Jan has the following meanings: Shorthand for the month January Common male name in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic and Norway that means delicate flower. ... Look up John in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In Flanders tussenvoegsels of personal names always keep their original orthography: mevrouw van der Velde, mevrouw J. van der Velde and Jan Vanden Broucke. Flanders (Dutch: ) is a large historical region overlapping Belgium, France and the Netherlands. ... The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of writing in that language. ...

Some Dutch tussenvoegsels (many of these words are inflected, and therefore often are not totally accurate) include: A tussenvoegsel, in Dutch linguistics, is a word that is positioned between someones first name and last name, but is still a part of someones full surname. ...

• aan (on)
• bij (with)
• de, den, der, d' (of/the)
• het, 't (the)
• in (in)
• onder (below)
• op (on)
• over (over)
• 's (of/the)
• 't (the)
• te, ten, ter (of)
• tot (till)
• uit, uijt (from)
• van, vanden (of)
• ver (far)
• voor (for)

And combinations:

• aan de, aan den, aan der, aan het, aan 't
• bij de, bij den, bij het, bij 't
• boven 'd
• de die, de die le, de l', de la, de las, de le, de van der,
• in de, in den, in der, in het, in 't
• onder de, onder den, onder het, onder 't
• over de, over den, over het, over 't
• op de, op den, op der, op gen, op het, op 't, op ten
• van de, van de l', van den, van der, vander, van gen, van het, van la, van 't, van ter, van van de
• uit de, uit den, uit het, uit 't, uit te de , uit ten
• uijt de, uijt den, uijt het, uijt 't, uijt te de , uijt ten
• voor de, voor den, voor in 't

See also

• Dutch language
• Flemish people
• Dutch people

Dutch (  ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 23 million people, mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, but also by smaller groups of speakers in parts of France, Germany and several former Dutch colonies. ... The term Flemings (Dutch: ) denotes the majority population in Flanders (the northern half of Belgium). ... The Dutch (Ethnonym: Nederlanders meaning Lowlanders) are the dominant ethnic group[1] of the Netherlands[2]. They are usually seen as a Germanic people. ...

References

• Dutch repertory of family names from the Meertens Instituut, data based on the frequently updated census of 1947
• Dutch first names database again from the Meertens Instituut
• Most frequent Dutch surnames from linguistic magazine Onze Taal

1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Notes

External links

• Dutch baby names - An extensive resource of dutch names and their meanings.