Aaldenberg DutchOriginally denoted a person who came from an uncertain place called
Aaldenberg, meaning "old mountain".
Aarle DutchDenoted a person who hailed from a place of this name in the Netherlands, or from Arlon in Belgium (which is
Aarlen in Dutch).
Abspoel DutchFrom
Abtspoel, the name of an estate near Oegstgeest in South Holland, meaning
"abbot's pool".
Achterberg Dutch, GermanFrom the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, for example the village of
achterberg in Utrecht. The place names are derived from Low German
achter "behind" and
berg "mountain, hill".
Achterkamp DutchFrom the name of various places in the Netherlands, derived from Low German
achter "behind" and
kamp "field".
Achthoven DutchDenoted a person from various towns in the Netherlands called Achthoven, which is derived from Dutch
acht "eight" and
hoven "farmsteads".
Adrichem DutchFrom the name of an estate and castle (demolished in 1812) that was formerly in North Holland, the Netherlands. It means "Adrik's home".
Akkersdijk DutchOriginally denoted a person from the town of Akkersdijk, near Delft in the Netherlands. It means "field by the dyke" in Dutch.
Albronda DutchFrom the name of various streets in the Netherlands.
Aldenkamp DutchPossibly from an unknown place name meaning "old field" in Dutch.
Altena DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "close, near" in Dutch.
Angenent DutchReferred to person who lived at the end of the road or the village, derived from Dutch
an gen ent meaning
"at the end".
Anholts DutchOriginally denoted a person from Anholt in the Netherlands, which means "hold, rest" in Dutch (a place where people could rest for the night).
Annevelink DutchFrom Dutch
aan 't veldink meaning
"next to the little field".
Apeldoorn DutchFrom the name of a city in the Netherlands, meaning "apple tree" in Dutch.
Appelhof DutchIndicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch
appel "apple" and
hof "yard, court".
Appelo DutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
Arendonk DutchDenoted a person from Arendonk, a town between in northern Belgium. It is derived from
arend "eagle" and
donk "hill".
Asselman DutchDenoted a person from Assel, Asselt or Hasselt, the name of communities in the Netherlands and Belgium. They derive from Old Dutch
ask "ash tree" and
loh "woods on sandy soil", or
hasal "hazel tree".
Assenberg DutchFrom Dutch
es meaning "ash tree" (plural
essen) and
berg meaning "mountain".
Assendorp DutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
Averesch DutchFrom a place name, possibly from a dialectal variation of Dutch
over meaning "over" combined with
esch meaning "ash tree".
Baardwijk DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly from
Baard, a variant of
Bert, and
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district".
Baars DutchIndicated a person coming from the town of Beers in the Netherlands.
Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)From a place name derived from Dutch
beet "beet, beetroot" and
hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.
Bezuidenhout DutchFrom Dutch
zuid "south" and
hout "forest". It refers to the south of the forest in The Hague.
Brand 2 German, DutchFrom Old High German
brant or Old Dutch
brand meaning
"fire", originally a name for a person who lived near an area that had been cleared by fire.
Bunschoten DutchOriginally indicated a person from the Dutch town of Bunschoten, which might mean "raised, enclosed land".
Cruyssen DutchFrom the name of a place in the Netherlands, derived from
kruis "cross".
Daalmans DutchOriginally indicated a person who lived in a valley, from Dutch
dal meaning "dale, valley" and
man meaning "man".
Dam Dutch, DanishMeans
"dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".
De Vries DutchMeans
"the Frisian" in Dutch, referring to a person from Friesland.
Eikenboom DutchMeans
"oak tree", from Dutch
eik "oak" and
boom "tree".
Elzinga DutchProbably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch
els meaning "alder tree".
Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, NorwegianName for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.
Haanraads DutchOriginally indicated a person from Haanrade, a small village in the south of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Holst Danish, Low German, DutchOriginally referred to a person from the region of
Holstein between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).
Kappel German, DutchName for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin
cappella, a diminutive of
cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint
Martin, which was kept in small churches.
Kloet DutchPossibly from Middle Dutch
cloet meaning
"lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign that had a globe on it.
Langbroek DutchFrom the name of a small town in the province of Utrecht, Holland, derived from
lang meaning "wide" and
broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
Leeuwenhoek DutchMeans
"lion's corner" in Dutch. The first bearer of this name lived on the corner (Dutch
hoek) of the Lion's Gate (Dutch
Leeuwenpoort) in the city of Delft.
Loman DutchFrom various place names in the Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch
loh meaning "meadow, clearing".
Ogtrop DutchOriginally denoted a person who was from the town of Ochtrup in Germany, which is of uncertain origin.
Peerenboom DutchFrom Dutch meaning
"pear tree", referring to someone who lived or worked at a pear orchard.
Rietveld DutchMeans
"reed field", from Dutch
riet "reed" and
veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).
Roggeveen DutchMeans
"rye field" in Dutch. A famous bearer was Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729), the first European explorer to Easter Island.
Roosevelt DutchMeans
"rose field" from Dutch
roos "rose" and
veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Ryskamp DutchMeaning unknown, probably ending with Dutch
kamp meaning "camp".
School DutchFrom Dutch
school, ultimately from Latin
schola meaning
"school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.
Schoorl DutchOriginally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.
Spijker 1 DutchDenoted a dweller by or worker at a granary, from Dutch
spijker "granary".
Ter Avest DutchMeans
"at the edge, eave" indicating a person who lived at the edge of a forest or under a covered shelter.
Van Aalsburg DutchMeans
"from Aalsburg", which is possibly
Adelsburg, composed of
adal "noble" and
burg "fortress".
Van Aggelen DutchDenoted someone from Aggelen, which could refer to Achel in the Belgian province of Limburg or Egchel in the Dutch province of Limburg.
Van Agteren DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Van Aller DutchMeans
"from the Aller", a river in Germany, of uncertain meaning.
Van Alphen DutchMeans
"from Alphen", a town in the Netherlands. It is derived from the name of the Roman fort
Albaniana, itself from Latin
albus "white".
Van Alst DutchMeans
"from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *
alhs meaning "temple, shelter".
Van Amelsvoort DutchMeans
"from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.
Van Amstel DutchMeans
"from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
Van Andel DutchMeans
"from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
Van As DutchMeans
"from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
Van Assen DutchMeans
"from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from
essen meaning "ash trees".
Van Baarle DutchMeans
"from Baarle", a town in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
Van Bokhoven DutchMeans
"from Bokhoven", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It means "goat yards" in Dutch.
Van Breda DutchMeans
"from Breda", a city in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
breed meaning "wide" and
Aa, the name of a river.
Van Buggenum DutchMeans
"from Buggenum", a small town in the middle of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Buren DutchMeans
"from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch
bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Van Dalen DutchMeans
"from the valley", from Old Dutch
dal meaning "valley".
Van Damme FlemishMeans
"from Damme", the name of a town in Belgium, derived from Dutch
dam meaning "dam". A famous bearer is the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-), who was born with the surname
Van Varenberg.
Van den Berg DutchMeans
"from the mountain", derived from Dutch
berg meaning "mountain".
Van der Aart DutchMeans
"from the earth", derived from Dutch
aarde "earth". It perhaps referred to either an earth bank or to a farmer.
Van der Stoep DutchMeans
"from the paved entrance", from Dutch
stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".
Van der Veen DutchMeans
"from the swamp", from Dutch
veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
Van der Zee DutchMeans
"from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
Van Donk DutchMeans
"from the hill", derived from Dutch
donk meaning "(sandy) hill".
Van Gogh DutchMeans
"from Goch", a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. It may be derived from a Low German word meaning "meadow, floodplain". This name was borne by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Van Hassel DutchMeans
"from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Old Dutch
hasal meaning "hazel tree".
Van Heel DutchMeans
"from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Herten DutchMeans
"from Herten", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The town's name comes from Dutch
herten, the plural of
hert meaning "deer".
Van Hofwegen DutchMeans
"from Hofwegen", a town in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch
hof "garden, courtyard" and
weg "way, path, road".
Van Kan DutchMeans
"from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.
Van Laar DutchDerived from Dutch
laar (plural
laren), which means
"open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.
Van Leeuwen DutchMeans
"from Leeuwen", the name of towns in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Limburd. The place names may be from the Old Dutch word
leo meaning "hill, burial mound".
Van Middelburg Dutch (Rare)Means
"from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.
Van Niftrik DutchMeans
"from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van Oirschot DutchMeans
"from Oirschot", a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is possibly from Dutch
oeros meaning "aurochs" and
schoot meaning "projection (of land)".
Van Ophoven DutchMeans
"from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.
Van Rijn DutchMeans
"from the Rhine". A famous bearer was the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).
Van Rompaey Flemish, DutchMeans
"from the wide path", derived from Middle Dutch
ruum "roomy, spacious" combined with
pat "path".
Van Rossum DutchMeans
"from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
rothe "cleared area in a forest" and
heim "home".
Van Tonder DutchMeans
"from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.
Van Wegberg DutchMeans
"from Wegberg", a small town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, close to the Dutch border. It is derived from old German
weg "way, path, road" and
berg "mountain".
Van Wieren Frisian, DutchMeans
"from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".
Van Wijk DutchMeans
"from the settlement", from Dutch
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district, settlement".
Veenstra DutchDerived from Dutch
veen meaning
"fen, swamp, peat".
Verhoeven DutchMeans
"from the farm" in Dutch, derived from
hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Waterman 2 English, DutchOccupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.
Westenberg DutchMeans
"west of the mountain", originally referring to a person who lived there.