Dutch name

Dutch names consist of one or several given names and a surname. The given name, as (usually) in English, is gender-specific.

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. Traditionally, Catholics often chose Latin names for their children, such as Catarina and Wilhelmus, while Protestants more commonly chose simple Dutch names, such as Trijntje and Willem. In both cases, names were often shortened for every day use. (Wilhelmus and Willem became Wim) 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.

Dutch naming law (given names)

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.

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)

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 characteristic 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".

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 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.

There are thought to have been a number of reasons 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.

In these times some "typically" Dutch names like "Kees" (Cornelius), "Jan" (Johannes) and "Piet" (Petrus) emerge.

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.

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.)

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's father (the child's paternal grandfather) / The first daughter was named after the mother's mother (the child's maternal grandmother).
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 father's 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.

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. In some cases these names are written more or less phonetically, for example Sjon (English John), Maikol or Maikel (English Michael), Sjaak (French Jacques) and Petrik (English Patrick).

Today traditional official names are found, but often only as an addition to the modern name. Boys are more often given a traditional Dutch name than girls. Boys are also more commonly named after a family member while girls are simply named for the sound of the name.

Surnames

There are a great variety of Dutch surnames (over 100,000), due to their recent introduction in 1811, hence there have been few generations in which names could become extinct.

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 Wolf ("the wolf") , van Rijn ("from Rhine"); but some verb-derived names that end in -en that often indicate occupations, like van Bruggen ("of bridges") for a bridge builder.

In the Netherlands, these prefixes are not spelled with a capital when used in combination with the first name or initial, for example Piet de Wolf or R. van Rijn. In all other cases a capital letter must be used, for example, de heer Van Kampen, even so when proceeded by an academic title like dr. Van Wijk.

In Belgium, this capitalization practice is not followed; prefixes in most common Dutch names are always capitalized, though occasionally 'Van de' occurs whereas another family may have the otherwise identical name spelled as 'Van De'. Also, prepositions can be merged with the surname (such as Vandecasteele), or can be separate (Van De Casteele), and a few combinations occur (Vande Casteele). These variations indicate different families and not all names exist with several spellings. (More on this under Tussenvoegsels.)

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 (who no longer have special rights), such as van Tuyll van Serooskerken. This usage exists also in Flemish names, though its nobility usually obtained the French prefix 'de'. In Dutch aristocratic names, the prefix is never capitalized. This results in people being very strict about whether the prefix in someone's name should be capitalized or not, and in immigrants from the Netherlands always having an uncapitalized prefix.

In name directories in the Netherlands, the prefixes are always ignored for sorting (e.g. Van Rijn is ordered under 'R'). A Dutch 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 had their prefixes capitalized for them, whether they liked it or not, like Martin Van Buren or Steve Van Dyck, and normal practise in English is to order on the first capitalized element.

In Belgium, all prefixes are always included for sorting.

Dutch naming law (surnames)

In Dutch tradition, marriage requires the female to drop her maiden name and take on the husband's name. The current law in the Netherlands 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 himself 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.

However, in practice the standard procedure is that when the woman marries she either keeps her maiden name or has a double surname, for example, Miss Jansen marries Mr Smit she either chooses to become Mrs Jansen or Mrs Smit-Jansen. It is not common to only take the partner's surname. This can cause problems for foreign national females living in the country, for instance when registering at the city hall you are required to present your birth certificate and passport as proof of identification. If you have changed your surname upon marriage then you are advised that in municipal records your surname as it appears on your birth certificate takes precedence.

Also within day-to-day life and banking a woman's maiden name is given preferential status.

Parents can choose to give their children their father's name or their mother's family name, 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 surnames

Surnames were not required until 1811 when emperor Napoleon had annexed the Netherlands. Since many Dutch people thought this convention would only be temporary, some deliberately chose confusing or comical names. For example:

Dutch surname	Explanation	English
De Keizer	probably a wordplay on Napoleon when people came to register their name; Who are you? I'm the emperor.	Lit. "emperor".
Rotmensen	rot, adjective meaning "rotten" + mensen "people"	Lit. "rotten people".
Poepjes	poep, noun meaning "poo/feces", + jes plural diminutive	Lit. "excrement; poopies".
Piest	piest, third-person singular form of the verb piesen meaning "to urinate/to piss"	(He/She/It) "pisses/urinates"
Naaktgeboren	naakt, adjective meaning "naked", + geboren meaning "born"	Lit. "born naked"
Zeldenthuis	zelden, adverb meaning "seldom", + thuis meaning "at home"	Lit. "seldom at home"

Before 1811, those Dutch people who did have surnames often used their first name plus their profession, living area, or personal appearance. For example:

• Bakker (meaning: "Baker")
• 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)/of Rhine")
• De Vries (meaning: "(a person from)/the Friesland")

Names ending in the letter 'a', especially in suffixes like -ma, -stra or -inga, are usually of West Frisian language origin.

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 fathers 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 Jans 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".

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

The Netherlands	Belgium
1. De Jong	1. Peeters
2. De Vries	2. Janssens
3. Jansen	3. Maes
4. Van de/den/der Berg	4. Jacobs
5. Bakker	5. Mertens
6. Van Dijk	6. Willems
7. Visser	7. Claes
8. Janssen	8. Goossens
9. Smit	9. Wouters
10. Meijer/Meyer	10. De Smet

Most common Dutch surnames

The most common Dutch surnames in the Netherlands (as of 1947) and Flanders in Belgium are listed to the right. Meertens' Dutch surname database lists 94143 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.

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.

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" is not 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 (Jan being a given name), but: de heer De Vries (meaning Mr De Vries) and de heer en mevrouw Jansen-De Vries (Mr and Mrs Jansen-De Vries). See also the main surnames section.

In Flanders tussenvoegsels of personal names always keep their original orthography: mevrouw van der Velde, mevrouw J. van der Velde, and Jan Vanden Broucke.

Some Dutch tussenvoegsels (many of these words are inflected, and therefore often are not totally accurate) include:

• aan (on)
• bij (at)
• de, den, der, d' (the)
• het, 't (the)
• in (in)
• onder (below)
• op (on)
• over (over)
• 's (of the)
• 't (the)
• te, ten, ter (at)
• tot (til, at)
• uit, uijt (from)
• van, vanden (of, of the)
• 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

References

see also Notes section

• "Nederlands Repertorium van Familienamen (Dutch repertory of family names)". Nederlandse Familienamen Databank (in Dutch). Meertens Instituut. Retrieved 2008-03-05. Data based on the frequently updated census of 1947.
• "Nederlandse Voornamen Databank (Dutch first names database)". Meertens Instituut. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
• Most frequent Dutch surnames from linguistic magazine Onze Taal