AF-279: Do You Have Dutch Genealogy? | Ancestral Findings Podcast

Do You Have Dutch Genealogy?
Do you have Dutch surnames in your family tree, or is your own surname of Dutch origin? Join me today on the Ancestral Findings Podcast and I’ll show you that knowing the meaning and origin of Dutch surnames can tell you more about your ancestors than you may imagine.
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[@Ancestralfindings]

Thank you for listening to the podcast and subscribing... I really appreciate it.

[@ronhoek69]

2:03 Surnames were used long before the 1800's. Only in some of the northern parts they didn't have surnames until Napoleon made it obligatary in 1811. Most people in church books I found from the 1500's onwards had surnames. 'Funny' names like mentioned in this video are very rare.

[@keessuijkerbuijk6192]

You're right Ron. In the Southern Netherlands however (Now North Brabant; Limburg and Flanders in Belgium) the surnames were used by the Catholic Church from 1563 (Reformation Councel of Trente 1545-1563). In the protestant Netherlands, the registration started much later. My name f.i. was used from abt 1559 as a nick-name. Lateron untill now as a family name or surname. And my name comes from the posture of my forfather Huijbrecht. He was officially called: Huijbrecht Lamssoon alias Suijkerbuijk. He was a Sugarbaker and probably had a "bourgondic" figure, what explains the Nickname. For my American and other English speaking friends: Suijkerbuijk mean Sugarbelly. My forfathers were proud enough of the name, that they chose it in 1811 to be our official family-name.

[@savanahmclary4465]

You gotta take the quality of the source...Who prefers to be PUBLIC .. and not private, with respect and confidentiality, with their prey.

[@walther7147]

Meanly in bigger Towns they needed surnames. In little remote billiges was no need of such a Thing.

[@WolfRoss]

My line that lived in Overijssel migrated to Niedersachsen. I have surnames back to the 1600s. Some of my Swiss surnames go back to the 1500s.

[@Anna-loves-you]

I'm Dutch and I have a very old Lower Saxon surname from Groningen ending with -ing.

[@kaspervletter290]

Which one

[@CrystalTwinStar]

Wow! I am connected with a Dutchman and just wrote something yesterday about our similar sense of humor! (I'm American but more similar to the Dutch)

[@janeparrett8601]

M mother's maiden name was Friesen. Pretty obvious where she was from.

[@crystalbishop6971]

There are several Dutch surnames in our family such as Hendrix(Hendricks), Springsteen, Volsburg, several surnames beginning with Van also such as Vanderslick, etc. Very interesting subject matter.

[@brucesouthernsassapiaries8316]

Wonder if we are related? I am a Hendrix descended from an Albertus Hendricks

[@SandfordSmythe]

Bruce Springsteen

[@markmccullough5873]

My maternal grandmother was named Eva Pickel. She was from Dutch Valley in Anderson county TN. I've seen family pictures where she would dress my mom and aunt in traditional Dutch costumes. My great grandma was named Schoenleber, not sure if that's Dutch or German.

[@LibertyBelleVA2]

Stoutenburg, our Dutch family. Settled in New York State in "New Amsterdam", 1600s. They were early settlers there on my Mom's side of the family. They had been titled since the 1100's.

[@lindanorris2455]

MINE TOO!

[@peytonwm]

On my maternal grandmother’s side, her maiden name was Muilenburg (which means yes, I am related to Dennis. We’re 4th cousins 3x removed lol). I found the many people pronounce the name in an anglicized manner, as if it were spelled Mullenburg or Moolenburg. My family always pronounced it in its Dutch form, as if it were spelled My-lenburg. Actually, I think it was my great or great-Great grandpa who always dropped the first “u” in his last name so that people could pronounce it correctly. Idk if it ever worked or not though lol

[@davidderuiter726]

If you pronounce the Y as you do in 'you' then i guess that is phonetically a bit on the right track. But more proper is oey.

[@SuAva]

Yeah the Dutch 'ui'-sound doesn't exist in English. The linguistic notation is /œy̯/ (diphtong glide from /œ/ to /y̯/) but I personally never know which sounds those symbols represent so I just copied this from elsewhere :P Best thing is to hear Dutch people pronounce it slowly.

[@dawnkurtz9541]

My father’s is Unklesbay - read it referred to an Uncle’s Bay.

[@harrietwoolever6180]

My grandparents last names were Hellinga (from Friesland) and Wyma. Further back there are Reitsma's

[@user-ju6bc6pn5x]

My great grandmother, grandmother was dutch !

[@JonDoeNeace]

My 2nd great grandfather was a Quaker & descendant of the Dutch Abolitionists, also an intermarried White tribal citizen to a Native American by blood. The Choctaw & Chickasaw show the North Native American DNA strands sometimes Admixed with admixture from Inuit and/or East Asian related haplogroups and Mesoamerican DNA from Native Mexican admixture. Then upon contact with the Whites, there were Whites who intermarried and adopted Native culture. Some of those were descendants of Dutch Abolitionists. It's considered part of the Native admixture. Due to tribal citizenship. Rather than it's own thing.

[@annawitter5161]

My surname is van Wageningen. My grandfather came from Deventer. I have been told there is a big connection with Weiss and Wagner, and there is a connection in my particular family with Gypsy people, the Sinti tribe, who travelled into northern Europe. I find all this so fascinating

[@fbkip]

Cool I grew up in Deventer

[@kaspervletter290]

It could also originate from the municipality of wageningen

[@meepenjaap7999]

My grandfather was from Deventer. His father kept an inn there. I wish I knew where it was.

[@ANota-og2yp]

You refer to the 1811 law of Napoleon that wanted to fix the Dutch names because they were often written in different ways. The vast majority of Dutch people already had a surname that had to be registered, those who only had a patronymic had to choose a surname. In my family tree I find surnames that have remained unchanged since 1400, but also surnames that were written in many ways from 1590 onwards, giving brothers and sisters the same surname that was spelled differently. the Act of 1811 fixed those names.

[@tenerifecats6652]

Trying to find history on the Blue family name in Holland which I understand the Blues in Scotland likely are descendants of. Makes sense as some of my DNA matches are showing up there.

[@janmango4692]

"Blue" is not a traditional Dutch surname (although it never can be ruled out that such a name existed). In modern Dutch it would be "Blauw" or more archaïc "Blaauw". Even older it could be spelled as "Blaeu", like the world famous cartographer Willem Blaeu en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Blaeu

[@theotromp6464]

What about Tromp what part of Nederland did it come from.

[@kylaevelyn1800]

Someone at my work years ago once looked at my last name "Miersma" and immediately said, "Ah, dutch!" which was weird for me since I didn't have many people who knew my last name and then said "Northern Freisland" which as a born Canadian citizen, confused me since I didn't know what that meant (my grandfather was the one who immigrated here, but didn't really pass down any traditions or stories so I didn't know at the time). It's interesting to know that it was the "ma" part of my name that indicated that :)

[@meepenjaap7999]

My father taught me the "ma" ending was from Friesland. There is a child naming book that has Friese names and the're pretty cool. Oh and so many Dutch in Canada. I have 2 cousins who moved there.

[@bookbeing]

Voogd is one of the names in our family tree.

[@dream-67]

My immediate ancestors names were Nooteboom and Moret.... I think the former means walnut tree and the latter is of French origin(via Belgium in our case)

[@diorblois3834]

Yes A "notenboom" in dutch translates to nut tree, Nooteboom is probably the old way of spelling it

[@WhisperingEcho33]

I am a mix of many things, Dutch, Swedish, French, Irish, German, and French Canadian. My last name is Holland. My mother's madien name was Camirand, and on both sides there's was both Sullivan so when my parents went to get married they had to do a DNA test to see if they were related and obviously they were not lol. I always wanted to dig deeper because it's obvious by my last name alone that I'm Dutch lol so I've always wanted to know more.

[@altheadeconing3566]

My maiden name was Jonker. Would love to know more about it.

[@ericvenema1294]

Jonker or Jonkheer literally means Young Gentleman . It used to be a titel for noblemen of lower rank or a higher civil servant . I think the New York borough of Yonkers refers to this as well. By the way, de Coning is a Dutch name too. It means the King. 🙂

[@garthownhouse7562]

My surname is Ownhouse. I know my great grand parents originated from Holland. Love to find out more about the family name

[@Elaud]

It translates into "Eigenhuis", and that seems to indeed be a surname here in the Netherlands.

[@Hermit_]

Van Ouwenhuysen, it 's a region.

[@jkjh1974]

Where does Ketelaar come from.. Always thought is was from Holland as my Father, Grandmother, both for sure and I thought my Grandfather were born there but this does not seem common of old Dutch names although many are there now. I was told possibly a Scandinavian origination. Any thoughts on this?? I would love to do an ancestry dna but my dna in the hands of those that want to out me seems ridiculous to do at best.

[@yyerun2968]

Ketelaar is dutch and it decribes someone who works with a cauldron or boiler for living.

[@rosannadots7772]

What about being called after something? My surname is Florijn, which is a coin dating back to approximately the 1500's. I am trying to find out my ancestry since I did a dna test beginning this year. Does somebody have any tips how to get started well? Unfortunately I can't ask family members

[@SuAva]

Awesome! The Dutch Guilder (gulden) that was used up until the introduction of the Euro in 2002 was still represented by the ƒ-symbol and 'fl.' abbreviation of the florijn (of course the money changed but the guilder which was named so because of the 'golden florijn' was still the name of the currency used). As for genealogical research I would first build out your tree by looking through (digital) archives of births/baptisms/marriages/deaths/burials, to find the parents of your grandparents, and their parents, etc. When you stumble upon your Dutch ancestors, these databases might be able to help your search: www.openarch.nl/?lang=en www.archieven.nl/en/ www.wiewaswie.nl/en/ DNA matches might be useful to find relatives if you have an unknown (grand)parent, but you'll mostly find distant cousins. For example if you're a 6th cousin with someone, you share a 5th great grandparent. You have 128 of those. To find the connection to the 6th cousin DNA match you first have to find all (or most) of those 128 5th great grandparents and the DNA match has to know all of his/hers too. So try to build out your tree first, try to find all those 128 5th great grandparents on all branches, and then it's fun to find the connection to distant relatives through DNA matches! In the ethnicity-parts of the DNA tests you can find Dutch DNA as anything that's labeled Northwestern European (French, German, British, Scandinavian), North Sea peoples common ancestry goes back such a long time that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly between those. Some can get more specific, for example 23andme provides specific Dutch provinces within the 'French & German' category. But it generally just means that your ancestors from 500/1000/1500 years ago probably lived in/around that region and that you share common ancestors with people that currently live in that region. DNA goes further back than paper trails of family trees can. To find specific examples of ancestors I find it more fun to expand my tree more and more generations back.

[@janmango4692]

There is a Florijn family branch that seems to have a close bond with the Dutch city of Leiden, but originating in (today's) northern France. Obviously, I don't know if you're related, but perhaps it's a start: www.mijnstambomen.nl/leiden/florijn.htm

[@kaspervletter290]

I’m dutch Vletter was a job were a guy would bring stuff from farmers to the markets over the polders on a raft

[@tatjannaandrews3659]

Helm or Helms ...also some Jewish roots I think. I’m adopted so my info is limited. Great job on the video. Muchly appreciated. 🙂

[@SuAva]

Dutch surname database gives a couple options on Helm/Helms: 1) Patronym of the (nick)name Helm or Helmes/Helmus, based on a Germanic helm-name, where helm has the original meaning of 'protector', usually a shortened version of Wilhelm(us). 2) Could also refer to a helmet maker and/or his son ('of the helmet maker'). 3) Or refer to a house/farm called Helm which the family living there named themselves after. 4) And there's also a branch that originated in the German city of Helmstedt, when offspring moved and started calling themselves Helmstätter, which later got shortened to Helms.

[@tatjannaandrews3659]

@@SuAva Wow, thank you! I appreciate that. I know my mother was 6 or so when she came over on a ship. I was told that grandpa helm had possibly dropped part of their last name off...and that’s all I know. Appreciate your kindness🦋

[@bjornr1120]

my bloodline has come from the 11th century, who was a knight, who regularly joined in the (knight tournament - jousting) where he mostly came on the first place.. his name was Rob.. translation of (first) to Dutch is (eerst). 😆 Still figuring it out if we are royal also.. lol (Sadly the name is almost wiped out)..

[@richardelfrink6483]

My family name is Elfrink it’s from Deventer where my father was born. I’m born in Australia but our family built a windmill in Deventer called De Bolwerxmolen it’s a sawmill that is now a museum. I heard our name meant Rink (from) Elf (Alfred) then it changed slight spelling depending on your location in the Netherlands eg, Elfring, Elfrank, Elferink, Alfrink, Etc (Haha I just heard the end where he said about Ink… from overjesel that makes sense now that’s where the windmill is) thank you

[@janvanderHorst-kp4bz]

hello, most if the -ink names are home names, it means from the farm. etc of.

[@nancynewhoff2223]

My maiden name was Hollon, orignially Holland. I was told when my ancesters came to Ellis Isand, the spelling was changed. I found the change was done in 1747.

[@kaspervletter290]

Holland as a surname is more so from england.

[@KristinaTurnerUS]

Wilkepleck was shortened to Wills.

[@walther7147]

So what about Kohlhaas? Does anybody Out there have an explanation? Whats the meaning?

[@simdal3088]

Might be german, the dutch version is koolhaas.

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

Sounds danish

[@lorraine4755]

My family from Belgium is Naert

[@williamstamper5395]

what of the name of Stamper came from, and or use?

[@wheezyjefferson9136]

I’ve always been told, one who stamps, possibly one who stamped coins.

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

Anglo Saxon name stamper

[@ronaldwinfield307]

New york was originally a Dutch colony. I guess under Dutch rule they did not have surnames. What happened when New York turned British? Many of my ancestors came from Colonial America. Could some of what I think as English, Scottish & German ancestry actually be Dutch?

[@JCK-gi2gm]

Short answer: Maybe. New York's Dutch/Colonial history is fascinating and there are great resources available. One thing to remember is that New Netherlands and New Amsterdam in particular were fairly "international" even in fairly early years (1620s on) which is why the answer is "maybe". There were English living there as well as Germans, Friesians (sort of Dutch-Germans), Walloons (French speaking Belgians), etc. Same with naming , some/many of the Dutch used the patronymic (son/daughter of ....) and others had surnames and both with different spellings depending on who was the "clerk" etc and how much education they had and where they were from. Long answer: Variation was the norm since many of the early settlers could neither read nor write and that continued in all areas for the next 300 years and still occurs. When the English first "conquered" New Amsterdam in 1664 (best military action ever, not a shot fired, and only egos were hurt), the 1st English governor (same guy who led the expedition, Colonel), Richard Nicholls, left most all of the administrative stuff as it was and still Dutch. The Dutch Reformed Church (great records though of course not all have survived) kept Dutch in services and in records for decades more but English and English ways, including surnames grew as well. It can get pretty complicated trying to figure out who's who, from where, and in what line, etc sometimes. For years I thought my earliest "Hall" (1635-1690) ancestor was Dutch with his surname Anglicized from "Haal" since that was what I found in the few records I came across. Turns out though, it was the opposite, he was English but married into the Dutch community. In fact he was a Lt. in the 1664 expedition, stayed in NY (as did a fair number of other members), received a nice chunk of land for his service, and raised a large family as part of the Dutch community. His wife is unknown but almost surely Dutch, his kids married Dutch even after many moved to NJ in the 1700s and still stuck fairly close when a bunch ended up in early OH. I still have a ton of ????s 20 years later 🙂

[@joebombero1]

Our family surname Huyett (alternative spellings included Huyet and Huyette) supposedly comes from the old Walloon word for the river Meuse (Huy, Hue or derivation thereof). People living along a tributary would be known as Huy-et or -ette. We just don't know if there is any truth to the legend.

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

If Dutch surnames end in sen that means the person has danish ancestry because they were part of the frisians that intermixed and some Dutch surnames end in ett or “our” have French ancestry . While the rest are just german

[@damfino]

Any info on Sikkink?

[@Elaud]

Names ending with 'ink' are from the north (above the Rhine river)-eastern part of the country. The Achterhoek, Twente (Gelderland and Overijsel provinces). It's most common in Winterswijk (Gelderland).

[@henkoosterink8744]

Yes Sikkink is pobably from The Achterhoek or Twente. Ink (enk) is a place where people build there farms. It is a higher piece of land between the lower moors.

[@slade7354]

Vanmeter, and Hendricksson

[@cynthiaduquette7423]

What about Schuyler?

[@robertself7733]

I have a print signed by E Gaufrioun but can:t.find origin anywhere Any help?

[@jojannekevisscher9923]

It sounds pretty French. Maybe it's origin lies in the first name Geoffrey? Could be something like 'Geoffrey's son' :)

[@jojannekevisscher9923]

It depends on the age of the print, but of it's old enough it can originate in Wallonië in modern Belgium. I sadly don't know much about that region, so good luck with your search!

[@SuAva]

Might have something to do with waffles (gaufres) or wafflemaker (gaufrier)? French or French Belgium (Wallonia). Then again it might just be a 'stagename' the artist chose, the only thing I can find on that name is of the artist 'E. Gaufrioun' and people selling that print, no info on the artist themself.

[@marilynleveque2497]

VerKerk then went to VanKirk. Other was Decker and Vorenkamp.

[@silvertongue3003]

So if my surname is Van Heerden, I need to remove the Van from it when I search for it? If it is even Dutch..

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

surnames that end in ‘den’ come the North Frisians from north Germany and Denmark to the Netherlands.

[@silvertongue3003]

@@YourMom-iy6cv thanks so much for your help and information, it’s appreciated

[@Inutero489]

My great grandmother was a Van Tassel, she was a very superstitious woman and had quite the sense of humor. 🤣

[@candice7594]

I have a I believe, a van Dorp, maybe the late 1600's, but, to this day, do not know, anything before that time, a missing link.

[@didibrant7326]

Does anyone know what the endings "ma" and "stra" mean in Dutch surnames?

[@ZaligeBite]

Ma and stra are pretty common in surnames i dont think it has a meaning but alot of surnames end like Veenstra or Hoekstra

[@erikamsing2166]

Surnames ending on -ma -stra and -ga are of Frisian descent. -Ma actually means ‘one of’, so the names Jensma or Gjaltema meaning one of Jens and one of Gjalt respectively. -Stra refers to a place (e.g. farm, mound, dyke etc.) like the names Terpstra and Dykstra, meaning from the terp (mound), and from the dyke. -ga refers to clans (in the old days) like Eisinga or Eppinga, the people from Eisa and the people from Eppa respectively.

[@didibrant7326]

@@erikamsing2166 thank you, so much.

[@didibrant7326]

@@ZaligeBite If you see 2 replies from me, my battery died. Thank you for your reply. It let's me know, of all my 15 generations back, I have no Friesland ancestors yet. Not all filled in on that chart though but they are mostly from N. and Z. Holland.

[@robertstaas9314]

My dutch surname was used from the 15th century and was a corruption of the name Eustace. It had nothing to do with a location or occupation.

[@tenbroeck1958]

My peeps! Eckeson, Thomaszen, Van Dever, Wynkoop, Kellenaar, Bout, Teneyck, Bogaert, etc., etc. I'm an old New Netherlands boy. My ggggggggGramdfather built what is known as the Old NY State Senate House in Albany, NY. Technically, Col. tenBroeck was from Muenster Germany, but came to the US with the Dutch West Indies Company in 1657-ish and was part of the Dutch Reformed Church.

[@umbertovanstaden2651]

My Surname is Van Staden yet my grandfather was as Italian as can be.

[@danielbosch8811]

I'm from the Netherlands and i have a German surname

[@jeroenvlutters5870]

It’s old Dutch spelling of Bos (Forrest). Look at the city Den Bosch and Hieronymus Bosch (painter)

[@didibrant7326]

My grandmother was born in 1895( March) and in her school days she learned to spell almost all words ending in an "s" sound as " sch". I have many of her letters still. It is just that the Dutch language has become more Dutch than German. Wait until you do your Dutch genealogy for the 15th century. Surprise! Surprise! You'd better know German.

[@dewaldvanwyk8175]

Anybody know something about van Wyk?

[@didibrant7326]

The only Wijk ( single word only) is along a river heading SE from Gorinchem, Gelderland to 'sHertogenbosch in Noord Brabant,NL. There are 3 more with added names. Wijk aan Zee in Zuid Holland just North of The Hague/Scheveningen. De Wijk near SE border of Drenthe province near Meppel.Wijk by Duurstede in Utrecht province by South border, SE of city of Utrecht. Another one in Drenthe, Witte Wijk is SW of Assen.

[@gemluka6666]

Wyk or Wijk means neighborhood

[@dewaldvanwyk8175]

@@didibrant7326 Thank you! I need to remember Wijk by Duurstede.

[@jan-louisbezuidenhout6296]

Bezuidenhout.... Somewhere from Den Haag I think..... Zuid van den hout (South of the woods)

[@ronhoek69]

It is a South African surname from Dutch ancestry. It is indeed a place near The Hague, just south of where there used to be a forrest. In that forrest the Counts built in the 1200's a castle for hunting trips and that castle is now the Binnenhof, the center of Dutch politics.

[@jojannekevisscher9923]

It's a neighborhood in The Hague! :) Right next to the remains of the old Forest

[@regiodeurse6513]

​@@ronhoek69 neat, never knew that.

[@michielvdvlies3315]

ben je dan Hagenaar of Hagenees? ;-)

[@michielvdvlies3315]

@@ronhoek69 the Counts used to live in Leiden before that. we still have the Gravensteen in Leiden

[@SimpleMinded221]

What does jeijsman mean in Dutch or German ? It could be spelled jeesman or jeisman aswell

[@didibrant7326]

@ Teutonic Knight. Somehow my comment would not show. So here again: my Dutch dictionary said something about a "thee and thou person" but with no explanation. My assumption is that people of certain denominations don't use the word "you" ( "jij" in Dutch in the singular form). So, maybe your ancestors were Quakers or the English Pilgrims who sought refuge in Holland before they ever came to America. In German, that would not translate for "you" as their words are "Du" ( sing.) or "Sie" (plural). Another possibility is that "jees" is a disrespectful slang term for Jesus and there again, referring to a religious person.

[@SimpleMinded221]

@@didibrant7326 Hello and thank you for your response!! I didn't notice your response either, but I may have found the answer. The Dutch Meertens Institute has thorough etymology on all Dutch family names (and first names, too). They say Jeijsman/Jeisman/Jeismann is a version of Eijsman. Heijsman is another version. On this site, it says Jeisman/Jeijsman comes from Eijsman/Eisman - a variant of Eisenmann. My paternal line goes back to North Rhine Westphalia Germany, with relatives in Holland as well. My 2x grandfather brought Jeisman to Holland and they spell it Jeijsman. Its a Low German/Low Saxon Westphalian dialect.

[@didibrant7326]

@@SimpleMinded221 Interesting. Now Eijsman , to me, seems like an old spelling for the modern Dutch word "Ijsman" ( iceman) and Eisen could be German for "iron" ( Ironman, thus) as iron in Dutch is eiser. Did they give you any meanings as I could be totally wrong? But as last names referring to a profession, it is possible. Long before refrigeration, men obtained ice from nature and men have worked millenia with iron.

[@SimpleMinded221]

@@didibrant7326 Im trying to copy the link to the Dutch Meerten institute for surnames, but KZbin keeps deleting the message. I copied the evolution Heijsman (y) Jeijsman (y) Eijs (y)

[@SimpleMinded221]

@@didibrant7326 But you're right, it must be tied to a profession. Earliest records my paternal line in westphalia is mid 1600s. So it could go back to who knows how long.

[@colinallers9982]

I have a lot of Dutch surnames in my family van Breda

[@colinallers9982]

I believe it means from the town of Breda

[@didibrant7326]

Yes. And in van de or van Der, both mean from the., ten and ter - at the, aan de is on the.

[@colinallers9982]

@@didibrant7326 yes love finding the meaning behind the names and surnames very interesting thank you I am from South Africa we speak a.language very close to Dutch .

[@didibrant7326]

@@colinallers9982 You're not kidding. I can understand Afrikaans so well. Most of it is pure Dutch.

[@colinallers9982]

my married surname is Allers but I believe it is German and it is Spilt rough Ahlers is the right way to spel the surname.

[@margaretadler6162]

What about Runkle?

[@SuAva]

Seems British: www.houseofnames.com/runkle-family-crest#:~:text=The%20surname%20Runkle%20was%20first,held%20estates%20in%20that%20shire.

[@rutgerb]

Does not sound Dutch

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

Sounds German

[@suzannelebizarre5705]

My heritage is Scots and Netherlands...

[@laylhendriks4720]

my grandmother surname used yo be van der merwe

[@bengalcat5608]

My surname is Fosmer- descendant of Garret Vosmeer. The spelling changed. They settled in Pennsylvania

[@dutchman7623]

The first name would probably be Gerrit because English speakers would write down Garret if they heard it. Gerrit comes from the Christian name Gerardus. So if you know from which part of the Netherlands he came you could search for Gerardus Vosmeer.

[@bengalcat5608]

Dutch Man, thank you, I'll try Gerardus and Gerrit.

[@didibrant7326]

Maybe a clue for you. He or ancestors could have come from a town called Vosmeer ( fox lake). My 1956 Dutch atlas only lists one town in the Province of Zeeland as Oud- Vossemeer. Oud is old. It is located very close to the Noord Brabant province border. 51°34' N, 4°12'E.

[@TheHumbleservantofChrist]

Good day everyone,my surname is Posthumus,I am from South Africa,I think that we migrated from Netherlands in 17th century,can someone give me some background if poaaible?

[@didibrant7326]

I have come upon a few posthumus. It is not really a name. It just means a record of your ancestor was recorded after his death. If the priest at church knew a member very well, he may have omitted the member's surname This happens a lot when a member begets child after child and lists the fathers first name only followed by an ' and an s, as in Arie's, Abraham's, Jan's meaning Jan's child. Or as Jan's for Jan's zoom ( son). Of course, as a joke during Napoleon's occupation, your ancestor could have told the Recorder his name was Posthumus.

[@gilvogt4440]

13th Generation in America here...Maternal Grandfather surname VanHorn......

[@jlpixies]

I have an ancestor named Pieter Arijszn Quant Van Wouw. Born in 1600s in Holland

[@michielvdvlies3315]

van Wouw ...Wouw is a Village in the province Noord-Brabant the Netherlands officially not Holland. Holland are the two provinces of North and South Holland in the west of the Netherlands (plural, the Netherlands consist of other lands like Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Gelderland)

[@jlpixies]

@@michielvdvlies3315 thank you

[@michielvdvlies3315]

@@jlpixies en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wouw

[@BluuurghAg9]

And Pieter's father was probably called Arijs (Arijszn => Arijs zoon => Son of Arijs)

[@didibrant7326]

Pieter's father's first name would be any of the following: A-r-i-j,Arie, Adrie, Adriaan.

[@joaoa3540]

Aerthycke, I found this surname on my tree, XV century, no idea who they are

[@karenjensen9374]

how about Jensen...anyone have any info on this name?

[@DarkDutch007]

Wikipedia if you look for Jensen (surname) : Jensen is a surname of Scandinavian origin. Jensen literally means son of Jens. In the 2001 it was the most common surname in Denmark, but nowadays it is the second most common surname in Denmark, where it is shared by about 5% of the population. It is also very common in other Scandinavian countries such as Norway, where it is the ninth most common surname, but nevertheless shared by about 5% of the population. The name is also in use in the Faroe Islands. There was no "Jensen family," merely a system of patronymics that was finally fixed in the 19th century at an arbitrary time, when the state bureaucracy required family names; before that people took their name from their father's first name.

[@SuAva]

It means you probably once had an ancestor named Jens that had a son that used the patronimic Jens' son (Jensen) and a grandson that chose to keep that patronimic as a family name for the generations after him.

[@rutgerb]

Or Jansen bastard to Jensen.

[@almafriesen2270]

Could also be Janzen

[@Hermit_]

Jens 's son.

[@ryanvanwinkle5702]

Love minee

[@seanhawes601]

U need to watch kurimeo ahua. A true geneanology history of dutch

[@didibrant7326]

My Dutch dictionary said something about a " thee and thou person". My assumption is a person of certain denominations that uses the words "thee" and "thou" instead of "you". In Dutch, "you" ( singular) is "jij". Maybe your ancestors were Quakers or Pilgrims.Pilgrims sought refuge in Holland before they went to America. Just my guess as the dictionary did not explain.

[@larrystipe3170]

Can someone help with my mother's maiden name she was from the Netherlands her last name was Stekelburg any help would be great

[@jannetteberends8730]

It comes from the village Loenen aan de Vecht. The name itself means strong bridge. Source Dutch family names database.

[@larrystipe3170]

@@jannetteberends8730 Thank you so very much

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

@@larrystipe3170 sounds ashkenazi Jewish. There a lot of Jews who lived in Netherlands could be possible

[@Page-Hendryx]

Hendryx!

[@weird134]

My mother side had the name Kluit.

[@nathanbuis8446]

So my last name is Buis pronounced (bias) I cannot find at all where it is from can anyone help? I’ve googled my last name and only found a wheelchair tennis player from Holland.

[@jannetteberends8730]

The name comes originally from west Fryslan (province North Holland) It’s a patronymic from the name Buis. Which comes from Bos. Meaning not known

[@didibrant7326]

Interesting, from Friesland but the word seemed to ring a bell. So "buis" is also a Dutch word meaning " pipe, conduit, a valve or tube in your body, even a jacket to wear".

[@ley_windsor]

Mine’s Brabander so it’ll probably be de Brabander

[@marjakeizer9580]

Or Wortel 'carrot' in case of having been a ginger, or Pooier 'pimp' or Poepjes 'small turds' or Koffiezat 'having had enough coffee'.

[@andrewstrootman6449]

Last name is Strootman anyone know anything??

[@TinaTravels33]

That’s so Dutch!!!

[@davidderuiter726]

Yes player of the Dutch national team is called Strootman. Strawman or the name somebody might have taken when they lived on Het Stroot located in Overijsel

[@michielvdvlies3315]

i know a guy andre strootman ;-)

[@SuAva]

2 options as far as I can find: A nickname for someone with a distinctive throat (strot). And/or a dialect variation of pronunciation/spelling of straatman (streetman), which might have referred to either someone who paved streets or lived on a paved street back when that was still a rare thing.

[@henkoosterink8744]

Strootman is Dutch, but it is probably originally German (Strootmann). Many Germans worked in the Netherlands in 16th and 7th century. Germany was very poor in those days.

[@claudegentsch9268]

TEXASMUDNECKSAY How about GENTSCH?

[@bethymears2648]

12 crystals tablets and the translater. Of the Atlanta people is also apart of the Dutch people's Ancestors.

[@lauraleecreations3217]

👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️

[@humanbeing1156]

Lentoor, Dutch surname?

[@jannetteberends8730]

No, there are no people with that name in the Netherlands. Maybe something French. Starting with le

[@alyssaxo852]

How about carti?

[@jojannekevisscher9923]

I don't know, sounds French maybe?

[@davidderuiter726]

That is Italian or south eastern French

[@Sorellalunamistica]

Carti is italian. Lol My lastname is also italian. Welcome to the fam but wrong place 🤭

[@bigfel3240]

Italian area?

[@MelanieFromCanada]

This might explain why my Dutch ancestors are missing last names in the 1600's.

[@henkoosterink8744]

No, people had surnames in thhose days. Like Rembrandt van Rhijn.

[@chrisvandenberg7475]

Guess my ancestors came from the mountains...Van Den Berg

[@elkebrand4917]

Brand from Zeeland Holland

[@didibrant7326]

Ja, ik was een Brand van Haarlemmermeerse en a-n-d-e-r-e-n dorpjes in Zuid Holland grootvaders. Ik wilde mij naam veranderen naar "Leigh Ding Brand".

[@user-ob4io6bk8v]

Please can you explain the sur name ommen. In Kerala India sur name ommen is common among Syrian Christians and they are related. Like in a tribe or sect

[@simon6495]

Ommen is a city in the Netherlands. It’s in the Overijssel province. The city got it’s city right as early as 1248, from Bishop Otto III of Utrecht (where I live). The city or then village was already called Ommen as early as 1133. I think if you search Ommen, Overijssel I think you can find a lot about it if you want. Or ‘Ommen Overijssel History’ or something.

[@simon6495]

I think at that time, Utrecht was a theocracy. Meaning it was ruled by the church. So if the christion chuch had a lot of power in the Netherlands at that time that could explain the religious connection, even though have no idea how it ended up there.

[@davidderuiter726]

You mean the Malankara Orthodox Church. I guess from the time of Dutch Malabar

[@sheilablackwell6003]

Grandfather breemes here in America

[@harrybuik9763]

My ancestors may have come from holland 🇳🇱 500 years a go almost every body in Dundee named buik are related to me from 1695 to to day a few put a c into there spelling also buik in arbroath and angus ,fife and perthshire , the wee boy from arbroath born 1854 who founded the buick motors of usa 🇺🇸, was born buik , it means book in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿,or tummy holland 🇳🇱 😀 😉

[@lindanorris2455]

and Handspicker.

[@gardenroom65]

Wessels

[@wendydania4899]

I’m Dutch from my mums side Van de Ven

[@meepenjaap7999]

In NL it would be written as van de Ven as in Dutch soccer player Micky van de Ven.

[@helenduplessis4166]

Wolf is a wolf not fox here in RSA.

[@michielvdvlies3315]

van der vlies....my surname and other like van der vliet, van der vlist originate from a tiny village in Holland known as vlist its on the shore of a river called vlist

[@SuAva]

Could be that specific location, but a 'vliet' is also just a word for a watercourse so they could also be from another vliet somewhere else.

[@michielvdvlies3315]

@@SuAva not according to genealogie

[@matt357magnum]

Mine is Van Landingham. So i guess I am of Landingham

[@Ancestralfindings]

Thanks for tuning in and sharing about your surname 'Van Landingham.' You're right, this name does have Dutch roots. The 'Van' in Dutch typically means 'from' or 'of,' suggesting a geographical or locational origin. So, 'Van Landingham' might indicate ancestors from a place called Landingham, which could be a fascinating aspect to explore in your genealogy journey. It's always interesting to uncover the stories behind our names. If you dig deeper into the history of 'Van Landingham,' I'd love to hear about it. Keep exploring, and thanks for being part of our genealogy community!

[@cielomartinez6993]

Van Arsthalen?🤷🏻‍♀️ My grandmother’s last name

[@6rezi805]

Interesting, I assume I have Dutch in me considering I also have a surname that starts with “Van”. My surname is VanCott lol.

[@SuAva]

Do you know of different spellings of that name in the past? I don't know of any place or thing or person called Arsthalen in the Netherlands/Belgium. It could be Anglicized/Americanized from something I do recognize as Dutch/Flemmish, so that's why it might be helpful to know the way the oldest known ancestor used to spell his name.

[@SuAva]

@@6rezi805 The website of Ancestry says of 'Van Cott': "Probably a variant of Dutch Van Gat, a habitational name for someone from either of two places called Gat, in North Brabant and North Holland."

[@cielomartinez6993]

@@SuAva I wouldn’t know...🤷🏻‍♀️

[@cielomartinez6993]

My great grandmother’s last name, and she married a spaniard, my great grandfather is Riguero, they lived in the US. I’m from Nicaragua though...I have a bit of a mix🤔

[@Over-for-now]

Is Hague a Dutch name? My maiden name is Hague

[@user-kv8go8pw9q]

Idk, The Dutch name for the city is Haag, not Hague.

[@Over-for-now]

@@user-kv8go8pw9q Isn't the capital of Holland called the Hague?

[@Azzy5146]

VanYsselsteyn here.

[@ericvenema1294]

IJsselstein is a town just south of Utrecht

[@almafriesen2270]

Sounds like ironstone in german

[@henkoosterink8744]

@@almafriesen2270 IJssel is a Dutch river.

[@inkieberg4404]

Van den Berg

[@robinbouwer2932]

My surname is Bouwer

[@zeflixy9814]

Boyd

[@SuAva]

Boyd is a Scottisch surname.

[@nathanvanveen2598]

Van veen🤙🏻😂

[@janmango4692]

There are a lot of Dutch towns ending on -veen. "Veen" means "peat". "Van" means "from", so your ancestors probably lived in an area with a peaty soil.

[@jodievandenheever5428]

Van den Heever

[@MichelNabil]

Virgil van dyick

[@henkoosterink8744]

Van Dijck.

[@cnd.9003]

Veenstra ( Friesland) 👋

[@ellak5426]

Klijnstra also Friesland 👏🏼

[@janmango4692]

@@danielkyavata6233 "Veen" means "peat". Surnames with (a variation of) "veen" in it suggest the land your ancestors lived on/came from was marshy peatland. Today there are a lot of dutch cities and towns that end have "veen" in their name. Before coal, peat was dug up and dried, and was then used as fuel for cooking and heating. It was quite an industry back then, with a lot of canals dug for transporting the stuff to the cities.

[@danielkyavata6233]

@@janmango4692 Thank you so much!

[@didibrant7326]

Always wondered. What does the "stra" mean?

[@henkoosterink8744]

@@didibrant7326 The Frisian suffix -stra, a syncopated form of -sittera 'one of the zitters (i.e. residents or inhabitants) of...', was often added to (a part of) the name of the hamlet, village or town that the person lived in or came from. Dijkstra (Dykstra), Hoekstra, Veenstra are three of the most common surnames in Friesland.

[@Iceland874]

I do but they are the minority in my ancestry.

[@JonDoeNeace]

I do but it's also through an individual of tribal affiliation by intermarriage.

[@francesmiller87]

Velden

[@YourMom-iy6cv]

North Frisian Dutch

[@alexandervos3026]

Who else has a Dutch last name beging with V lmao

[@didibrant7326]

Quite a few as "v" is a well used letter": Verveer, Vos, Vogel, Verschuur, de Vries, Vink.

[@alexandervos3026]

@@didibrant7326 yes I have first hand experience haha