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ArchivesRe: Small words in Surnames (e.g. Von, de, van, Mac)
in reply to a message by thupham2@hotmail.com
I have to disagree on a couple of points here.
First, VAN as a component of Dutch surnames is not indicative of noble status. Unlike the German VON it retains is original sense, "from" before a locative name.
Second the -ov ending is common throughout Russian society, not confined to families of noble ancestry. In fact some of the highest ranking families didn't have surnames ending in -ov. Think of the Princes Kropotkin, Obolensky, Galitsin.
First, VAN as a component of Dutch surnames is not indicative of noble status. Unlike the German VON it retains is original sense, "from" before a locative name.
Second the -ov ending is common throughout Russian society, not confined to families of noble ancestry. In fact some of the highest ranking families didn't have surnames ending in -ov. Think of the Princes Kropotkin, Obolensky, Galitsin.
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