Belgian names are used in the country of Belgium in western Europe.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Van GilsDutch Means "from Gilze" in Dutch, a village in North Brabant, Netherlands. Possibly derived from a cognate of Old Norse gil "gap, ravine, gully".
Van GinkelDutch Means "from Ginkel" in Dutch, the name of a settlement in Gelderland, Netherlands, possibly derived from Old Dutch gengi "accessible, passable" and lo "light forest, forest clearing".
Van GoolDutch Means "from Goirle" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch goor "filth, dirty; swampy forest floor" and lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van GriekenDutch Means "of Greeks", derived from Dutch Griek "Greek (person)".
Van HaitsmaDutch Habitational name for someone from Haitsma, a place in Friesland.
Van HalenDutch Habitational name for a person from the villages Hoog en Laaghalen in the Dutch province of Drenthe or Halen near Hasselt in Belgian Limburg. Famous bearers include Dutch-born American musicians Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) and his brother Alex Van Halen (1953-) of the rock band Van Halen... [more]
Van HanegemDutch, Flemish Means "from Hanegem", possibly from a place name in Flanders, Belgium; one theory suggests that it may be associated with Danegem, a town near Beernem, West Flanders. Other theories connect it to Hunnegem, the name of an old settlement in Geraardsbergen, East Flanders, or a place called Huinegem in Asse, Flemish Brabant... [more]
Van HarenDutch Means "from Haren" in Dutch, the name of several settlements derived from haar "sandy ridge".
Van HeldenDutch Means "from Helden" in Dutch, the name of a village in Limburg, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch helde "slope, incline".
Van HelmondDutch Means "from Helmond" in Dutch, a municipality in Southern Netherlands, of unknown etymology. It could derived from the Dutch dialectal hel "low-lying" and Old Dutch munte "hill, place of refuge during flooding".
Van HelmontBelgian, Dutch Possibly a variant of Van Helmond. Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580-1644) was a Belgian chemist, physiologist, and physician, considered as the founder of pneumatic chemistry.
Van HelsingDutch (Rare) Habitational name that can derive from any of several locations. It is most famously used by the fictional character Abraham Van Helsing in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, in which case it may be invented.
Van HertrooijDutch Means "from Hertrooij", most likely a place name in the Netherlands. It could possibly derive from Middle Dutch hert meaning "deer" and rood meaning "red".
Van HeukelomDutch, Belgian Denoted someone from any of several places Heukelom or similar, derived from Old Dutch *hukila "hill, elevated place" and hem "home, settlement".
Van HeusenDutch Heusen is derived from the town Husum in Holland. The town was on the Zuyder Zee, Holstein, Holland.
Van HeutszDutch (Archaic) A bearer of this name is J.B. van Heutsz, also known as the Pacificator of Aceh, former governor general of the Dutch East Indies.
Van IerselDutch Habitational name from the town of Eersel in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from the Old Dutch personal name *Ari combined with lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van IersselDutch Variant of Van Iersel. A famous bearer is the former Dutch soccer player Kees van Ierssel (1945-).
Van LaarhovenDutch Means "from Laarhoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. The place names derive from Dutch laar meaning "open spot in the forest" and hoven meaning "farmstead".
van MaarschalkerweerdDutch Habitational name denoting someone from Maarschalkerweerd, a place near Utrecht in the Netherlands. Derived from Dutch maarschalk "marshal" and weerd "land next to water, riverine island".
Van MaastrichtDutch Means "from Maastricht", a city in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, itself derived from the name of the Maas (Meuse) river combined with Dutch tricht meaning "ford, passage, crossing, ferry".
Van MaurikDutch Means "from Maurik" in Dutch, which is a town in the east of the Netherlands.
van MelleDutch, Flemish Means "from Melle". Habitational name for someone hailing from Melle in East Flanders, Belgium.
Van MerrienboerDutch Occupational name for a mare farmer, derived from Middle Dutch merrie meaning "mare (female horse)" and boer meaning "peasant, farmer".
Van MierloDutch Means "from Mierlo", a village in the Netherlands. Likely derived from a compound of Old Dutch *mier "swamp" and lo "light forest".
Van MolDutch, Flemish Derived from Middle Dutch mol, meaning "mole." This surname can either derive from the nickname mol, meaning "mole", perhaps given to someone with dark hair or blindness, or from a house with the sign of a mole.
Van MusschenbroekDutch Means "from Musschenbroek", a hamlet in Limburg, derived from plural form of Dutch mus "sparrow" and broek "marsh, wetland". Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692–1761) was a Dutch scientist credited with the invention of the first capacitor.
Van NistelrooijDutch Means "from Nistelrode", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch nest meaning "nest, burrow, resting place" and lo meaning "light forest", combined with rode meaning "land cleared of trees"... [more]
Van OmmenDutch Means "from Ommen" in Dutch, a city and municipality in northeastern Netherland, historically attested as de Vmme or Ummen, of unknown etymology. It could derived from a prehistoric hydronym.
Van OmmerenDutch Means "from Ommeren", a small village in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van OoijenDutch Means "from Ooijen" in Dutch, the name of a hamlet in Limburg, Netherlands, as well as several other settlements derived from Middle Dutch ooy "floodplain, wetland, meadow in the bend of a river".
Van OortDutch Means "from the edge (of town)", derived from Middle Dutch ort "edge, corner, outermost point of a region". Sometimes altered to or from the surname Van Noort.
Van OssDutch Means "from Oss", a town in the southern Netherlands.
Van OtterlooDutch Means "from Otterlo", a village and former municipality in Gelderland, possibly derived from Dutch otter "otter" and lo "pool".
Van PeltDutch, Flemish Habitational name for someone from Pelt (formerly Pedele), Overpelt, or Neerpelt, possibly derived from a word meaning "marshy place".
Van PersieDutch Means "from Persia", most likely derived from the name of a house that traded in Persian goods. Alternatively, it might derive from Perche, a former province in France.
Van ReenenDutch, South African Means "from Rhenen", the name of a city in Utrecht, Netherlands. Possibly derived from Proto-Germanic *hraini "clean, pure", or from Rijn "the Rhine (river)" combined with Old Dutch hem "home, settlement".
Van ReesDutch Means "from Rees", a German town on the bank of the Rhine that probably derives its name from Kleverlandish rys "willow grove".
Van RensselaerDutch From Soleur, one of the areas or regions of Switzerland.
Van RielDutch Means "from Riel" in Dutch, a toponym of uncertain origin.
Van RijsbergenDutch Means "from Rijsbergen", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch rise meaning "twig, branch, brushwood" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
Van RooijenDutch Derived from any of several places named using the suffix rooien, denoting an area cleared of trees.
Van RuisdaelDutch Means "from Ruisdael", the name of a lost castle, also called Ruisschendaal, near the village of Blaricum in North Holland, the Netherlands. It means "noisy valley" in Dutch. This name was borne by members of the Van Ruisdael family of artists during the Dutch Golden Age, notably the landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael (c... [more]
Van SchaikDutch Derived from any of several places called Schaik, Schaijk, or Schadijk, derived from the original form Schadewijk possibly meaning "shaded place" or "inhospitable place" from Middle Dutch scade meaning either "shadow, shade" or "damage" combined with wijk "village, settlement".
Van SchalkwijkDutch Means "from Schalkwijk", the name of either a small village in the province of Utrecht, or a large neighbourhood in the city of Haarlem in North Holland, the Netherlands. The place names are derived from Old Dutch scalc meaning "servant" and wic meaning "village, town, farmstead, settlement".
Van SchieDutch Means "from Schie" in Dutch, the name of a canalised river that lends its name to several nearby toponyms. Possibly related to Middle Dutch scheiden "to separate, to part".
Van SchijndelDutch Means "from Schijndel" in Dutch, the name of a village in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from lo "forest clearing, light forest" and an uncertain first element.
VansickleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname, probably derived from either the given name Sikkel (see Siegel) or from sikkel meaning "sickle, scythe".
Van 't BoveneindDutch Means "from Boveneind", the name of various places in the Netherlands, itself meaning "from the top end" in Dutch. It is derived from boven meaning "upper, upstream" and eind meaning "edge, end".
Van TienhovenDutch Means "from Tienhoven", the name of several villages in the Netherlands. Their names mean "ten parcels of land" in Dutch. A famous bearer was the Dutch politician Gijsbert van Tienhoven (1841-1914), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Van TilburgDutch Means "from Tilburg" in Dutch, the name of a city in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch tilli "newly cultivated land" and burg "fortress, fortified settlement, citadel".
Van TolDutch Means "of (the) toll" or "from Tol" in Dutch, derived from tol "toll (fee); toll booth, toll house", a habitational name for someone who lived near or in a toll house or a place named for one, or a metonymic occupational name for a toll collector... [more]
Van 't SchipDutch Means "from the ship", derived from Middle Dutch schip literally meaning "ship". It is borne by the Dutch-Canadian former soccer player John van 't Schip (1963-).
Van TuijlDutch Means "from Tuil", the name of two different settlements, both derived from Old Dutch tiole or tiuli "agricultural land, pasture".
Van UdenDutch Means "from Uden" in Dutch, a town in North Brabant, Netherlands.
Van VelsenDutch Means "from Velsen" in Dutch, a municipality in North Holland, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pel "swamp, marsh" combined with the hydronymic suffix *isa.
Van VuchtDutch Means "from Vucht", a place name probably derived from Middle Dutch vucht "humid area, wetland".
Van WageningenDutch Means "from Wandeningen" in Dutch, denoting a person from the municipality of Gelderland, Netherlands, from Dutch Wagano with collective suffix -ung-
Van WanrooijDutch Means "from Wanroij" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, probably derived from Middle Dutch wan "bad, insufficient, lacking; un-" and rode "land cleared of trees".
Van WertDutch (Americanized, Archaic), Flemish Habitational name for someone from places in Belgium and the Netherlands called Weert, (De) Weerd, Weerde, or Waarde, all derived from Middle Dutch wert "holm, area surrounded by rivers".
Van WezelDutch Means "from Wezel", the name of several locations in the Netherlands.
Van WijngaardenDutch Means "from Wijngaarden", a village in South Holland, Netherlands, meaning "vineyards" in Dutch. It’s uncertain if there was ever actually a vineyard in or near the village.
Van WormerDutch (Rare) Means "from Wormer", a town in North Holland. Derived from Old Dutch wer "fishing weir" and mere "lake", or possibly from Proto-Germanic *werm "water".
Van ZonDutch Variant of van Son. In some cases, it could denote someone who lived or worked in a building named De Zon "the sun", probably named for a sign depicting the sun.
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VeermanDutch Means "ferryman, skipper" in Dutch, from veer "ferry". Alternatively, it could be an occupational name for a feather merchant or fletcher, derived from veer "feather, plume", a contracted form of the archaic veder.
VeilletteFrench (Americanized) Some characteristic forenames: French Lucien, Alain, Armand, Francois, Germaine, Jacques, Jean-Marie, Marcel, Yves.... [more]
VeilleuxFrench variant of veilleur, a night guard of nightwatch.
VerdéFrench Possibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname Verde.
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerdonFrench Habitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
VerhofstadtDutch, Flemish Means "from the farmstead" or "from the homestead" in Dutch. A notable bearer is the Flemish politician Guy Verhofstadt (1953-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.
VerkuilenDutch, Flemish Reduced form of van der Kuylen, a topographic name derived from kuil "pit, quarry, hole in the ground", or a habitational name for someone from Kuil in East Flanders or Kuilen in Limburg.
VerlaineFrench, French (Belgian) Habitational name for someone from Verlaine in the province of Liège, Belgium. Paul Verlaine was a noted bearer.
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
VernierFrench Surname for a person who lived near an alder tree. Also a variant of Garnier 1 and Varnier and the eastern French form of Warner.
VéronFrench There are three etymologies possible for this surname: which one applies, will vary per Véron family, as the meaning depends on the personal history of the original bearer of their surname.... [more]
VerretFrench From the French word verre, meaning "glass." Possibly denoting someone who worked with glass.
VerrierFrench An occupational French surname indicating a glassmaker or glassblower, from French verre "glass", derived from Middle French voirre "glass".
VialEnglish, French from a personal name derived from Latin Vitalis (see Vitale). The name became common in England after the Norman Conquest both in its learned form Vitalis and in the northern French form Viel.
VianneyFrench The surname in origin is a variant of Viennet, a diminutive of Vien, a short form of Vivien 1. A famous bearer is Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), a French saint.
ViardFrench from the ancient Germanic personal name Withard from the elements widu "wood forest" and hard "hard".
VienneauFrench Denoted a person from Vienne, a commune in the Isère department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France, or perhaps derived from the given name Vivien 1.
VillardFrench French cognate of Vilar. A topographic name denoting an inhabitant of a hamlet; or a habitational name from (Le) Villard the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
VinkDutch Means "finch, chaffinch" in Dutch, a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught finches and other small birds. It could also be a nickname for someone cheerful, or who was known for whistling.
VioletteFrench Perhaps a topographic name from a diminutive of viol "path", itself a derivative of vie "way". It is more likely, however, that this name is from the secondary surname Laviolette "the violet (flower)", which was common among soldiers in French Canada.
VoisinFrench From Old French voisin "neighbor" (Anglo-Norman French veisin) . The application is uncertain; it may either be a nickname for a "good neighbor", or for someone who used this word as a frequent term of address, or it might be a topographic name for someone who lived on a neighboring property... [more]
VonkDutch Means "spark" in Dutch, a metonymic occupational name for a smith, or possibly a nickname for a lively or fiery person.
VoogdDutch Means "guardian" in Dutch, an occupational name for a bailiff, farm manager, or someone appointed to look after the interests of other people. Ultimately from Latin advocatus "witness, advocate; one called upon to help"... [more]
VoorheesDutch Habitational name from a place in Drenthe called Voorhees.
VorstDutch, Low German topographic name for someone who lived in a vorst "forest" or habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Vorst or Voorst... [more]
VreelandDutch Habitational name for a person from a place bearing the same name in the province of Utrecht, which is itself derived from the Middle Dutch word vrede, meaning "peace; legal protection against armed violence".
VreeswijkDutch Habitational name from a former village and municipality in the province Utrecht, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch Frieso "Frisian" and wic "village, town"... [more]
VrielinkDutch Etymology uncertain. Possibly from the name of a farmstead, itself perhaps derived from a given name such as Frigilo or Friedel... [more]
VriezeDutch From Middle Dutch Vrieze "Frisian", an ethnic name for a someone from Friesland.
VuittonFrench Derived from the Old High German word "witu" and the Old English pre 7th century "widu" or "wudu", meaning a wood, and therefore occupational for one living by such a place.
VuurmanDutch Means "fire man" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who burned patches of forest land, or who worked in a fire brigade.
WachterGerman, Dutch Means "guard, sentinel", an occupational name for a watchman.
WaffelDutch (Anglicized, ?) Possibly an Anglicized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname derived from wafel "waffle, wafer".
WannemacherGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or seller of baskets, particularly winnowing baskets or fans, derived from Middle High German wanne literally meaning "winnowing basket" and macher meaning "maker"... [more]
WarnsGerman, Dutch Patronymic form of the Germanic given name Warn (see Warin). Alternatively, a habitational name from various Frisian places likely named using the same or similar elements.
WassinkDutch Derived from the personal name Wazo and the suffix -ink denoting origin from a family or place.
WatteauFrench Possibly from French gâteau “cake”, denoting a baker.
WeghorstDutch, German Habitational name from a location near Hanover, possibly derived from weg "way, road" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
WehlburgGerman (Rare), Dutch (Rare) Possibly derived from German Wehl "pool of water (esp. behind a dyke)" (cognate to Dutch weil "vortex, maelstrom; dyke breach pool") and burg "fortress, citadel".
WestraDutch, West Frisian Means "from the west", derived from Dutch west "west, western, westwards" combined with the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.