BeekmanDutch, German (Americanized) Means "creek man" in Dutch, a topographic name for a person who lived by a creek, or an Americanized form of the German cognate Beekmann.
BellersEnglish, Dutch Name came from the son of a French Noble born in Leicestershire, England. Hamon Bellers took his last name after the Kirby Bellers (Bellars) which was the name of the land given to him by his father.
BleekerDutch Occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, from Middle Dutch ble(e)kere.
BlemkerDutch (Americanized) Possibly an Americanized form of an occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, derived from Middle Dutch bleker.
BloemenDutch, Flemish Means "flowers, blooms" or "flour" in Dutch. Can be a nickname denoting beauty or a cheerful disposition, an occupational name for a gardener, miller, or baker, or a habitational name for someone who lived near flowers, or a sign depicting them... [more]
BouwmanDutch Means "farmer" in Dutch. Alternatively, a patronymic form of Boudewijn.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived from brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
BurdickAnglo-Norman, English, Dutch (Americanized) English (Middlesex) nickname from an unrecorded Middle English burre-dokke ‘burdock’ the name of a prickly plant with burrs and dock-like leaves (usually Arctium lappa) common on waste ground. It may have been given to someone of a prickly temperament or perhaps to someone with a hoarse voice.... [more]
BuurmanDutch From Old Dutch bur meaning "neighbour, resident" or "peasant, farmer" combined with man "person, man". Compare Baumann.
CapelleFrench, English, Dutch, Flemish French topographic name for someone living by a chapel, from a regional variant of chapelle "chapel" (compare Chapell 2), or a habitational name from any of several places named La Capelle... [more]
CruijffDutch Referred to a person with curly locks of hair, derived from Middle Dutch cruuf, cruve literally meaning "curl, lock", ultimately from Latin curvus. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer player Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (1947-2016), commonly known as Johan Cruyff.
De BonteDutch Means "the colourful", from Dutch bont meaning "motley, multi-coloured; varied, mixed". Probably a nickname for someone known for wearing bright clothing, or perhaps figuratively referring to someone who behaves oddly or unpredictably.
DecaturDutch Variant spelling of De Caters. A notable bearer was Stephen Decatur (1779-1820), an American naval officer and commodore during the War of 1812, the Barbary Wars and the Quasi-War.
De GoedeDutch Means "the good (person)" in Dutch, a nickname for someone considered especially kind or gentle, or perhaps for someone gullible.
De GoeijDutch From Dutch goei meaning "good", making this a cognate of Good. A famous bearer is the retired Dutch soccer goalkeeper Eduard de Goeij (1966-), better known as Ed de Goey.
De LeeuwDutch, Flemish Means "the lion" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived at a house or tavern with a sign depicting a lion. In some cases, it may have been a nickname denoting a wild or courageous individual.
de MaagdDutch Derived from Middle Dutch maech, mage "a member of one's kin, a blood relative".
Den UijlDutch Means "the owl" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch ule. A notable bearer was the Dutch prime minister Johannes den Uijl (1919-1987), also known as Joop den Uyl.
DeremerDutch Occupational name for a belt maker or cutter of leather straps, from Dutch riem "belt, strap". It could also be a name for a peat digger, someone who "riems" peat.
De RijkeDutch Means "the rich one", from Dutch rijk "rich, wealthy, abundant".
De RooijDutch Means "the red", derived from Dutch rood "red", a nickname for someone with red hair.
De WaardDutch From Dutch waard "innkeeper, host, landlord, protector", derived from Middle Dutch weert. Alternatively, from Middle Dutch waert "floodplain, riverine island".
GrotiusDutch (Latinized) Latinized form of De Groot. This name was used by the Dutch humanist, theologian and jurist Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), born as either Huig de Groot or Hugo de Groot... [more]
HerringGerman, English, Dutch, Scottish Occupational name for a fisherman, someone who caught or sold herring, or perhaps someone known for eating herring. It could have also been a nickname from the medieval phrase "to like neither herring nor barrel", meaning something of little value.
HuismanDutch Literally "houseman", an occupational name for a farmer, specifically one who owned his own farm.
HuitemaDutch Possibly a patronymic form of Hoite, a pet form of names containing the element hugu "mind, thought, spirit", using the Frisian suffix -ma "man of".
HulshofDutch Habitational name derived from Middle Dutch hul "holly" and hof "court, garden, farmstead".
HuygensDutch, Belgian Means "son of Hugo". A notable bearer was Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695).
JanmaatDutch Possibly from janmaat, a slang term for a sailor or the collective nautical community, derived from a combination of the common given name Jan 1 and maat "shipmate, sailor; mate, buddy".
KantersDutch An occupational name for a singer, such as a precentor (someone who leads songs or prayers in a church, monastery, or synagogue) or choir member. Ultimately derived from Latin cantor "singer, leader of song at a ceremony; prayer leader in a Jewish ceremony".
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French Means "waiter, cellarman" in German, ultimately derived from Latin cellarium "pantry, cellar, storeroom". This was an occupational name for a steward, a castle overseer, or a server of wine.
KrouwelDutch From Middle Dutch crauwel meaning "trident, hook, claw", an occupational name for someone who used such a tool, or habitational name for someone who lived near a landmark depicting it.
LakemanDutch Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a lake or pond, from Middle Dutch lake "lake, pool; stream, marshland" and man "person, man", or an occupational name from laken "broadcloth".
LindersDutch Patronymic form of Leonard, or possibly of a Germanic name composed of linta "linden tree, shield, spear" and heri "army".
LokerseDutch Possibly a patronymic form of a given name such as Lokke, or a habitational name from a place using the Middle Dutch element loken "to close, shut, fence" (compare Lock).
LouwersDutch Either a patronymic from a short form of Laurentius, or an occupational name for a tanner from Dutch looien "to tan (leather)".
MalfeytDutch, Flemish Generally a Dutch form (or "dutchization", if you will) of Malfait, with the spelling reflecting the surname's origin from older times (as -eyt is an exclusively archaic spelling that has not survived into modern times like its counterparts -eit and -ijt did)... [more]
MarsmanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch marsch, mersch (Southern Dutch meers), meaning "marsh". In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Meersman.
MeeboerDutch (Rare) Possibly an occupational name for someone who brewed or sold mead, from Dutch mede (also mee) "mead" and boer "farmer, peasant; merchant, producer (of a product)".
MeesterDutch, Flemish, German Occupational name for a teacher, lecturer or a master craftsman, or a nickname for someone who had a bossy demeanor, derived from Dutch meester meaning "master". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actress, singer and model Leighton Meester (1986-).
MullensFlemish A name referring to someone who lived at or by a mill.
MünsterGerman, Dutch habitational name from any of the places called Münster (in Germany) or Munster derived from Latin monasterium "monastery" or a topographic name for someone living near a monastery.
MussertDutch Dutch cognate of Mussett. This name was borne by the infamous Nazi politician Anton Mussert (1894-1946), the leader of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) during World War II.
OmtzigtDutch Derived from Dutch omzicht meaning "cautious, careful, circumspection", ultimately from the verb omzien meaning "to look around". It may have originated in a Dutch village with several farms named Omzicht, or as a nickname for a cautious person... [more]
OnstenkDutch Derived from a place name, ultimately composed of on- "un-, bad" and stede "city, town" combined with the possessive suffix -ink.
OostwalDutch From the Dutch words oost "east" and wal "coast, shore" or "bank, levee, wall".
PenningEnglish, Dutch, Low German From early Middle English penning, Low German penning, and Middle Dutch penninc, all meaning "penny". It was used as a topographic surname from the name of a field, or a nickname referring to tax dues of one penny.
RouvoetDutch From a nickname that meant "rough foot", derived from Middle Dutch ru meaning "rough, wild" and voet meaning "foot". This name is borne by the retired Dutch politician André Rouvoet (1962-).
RumfeltGerman, Dutch Altered spelling of German Romfeld, derived from Middle Low German rüm- meaning "to clear (land)" and feld meaning "open country, field", hence a topographic name or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a person engaged in clearing woodland, or in some cases a habitational name for someone from Romfelt in the Ardennes... [more]
SchachtGerman, Flemish From Middle Low German and Middle Dutch schacht "shaft; pole, tunnel", a metonymic occupational name for someone who made shafts for tools or weapons, or who worked in a mineshaft.
ScheeleGerman, Dutch, Swedish (Rare) From Middle Low German schele and Dutch scheel meaning "squinting, cross-eyed". A notable bearer was German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) who discovered oxygen and identified several other elements.
SchrootDutch Possibly an altered form of des Groot via Sgroot, meaning "son of the Groot", itself a byname meaning "great, large". Alternatively, it could be related to schroot "scrap (metal)" or the older scrode "to cut", an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, or perhaps a tailor.
SievertLow German, Dutch, Swedish Derived from the given name Sievert. A Sievert (Sv) is a unit measuring the effect of ionizing radiation on the human body (called equivalent absorbed radiation dose)... [more]
SikkemaWest Frisian, Dutch Patronymic form of Sikke, a short form of names containing the element sigu "victory", using the Frisian suffix -ma "man of".
SluiterDutch Means "gatekeeper, porter, prison guard, cellar master" in Dutch, literally "one who closes".
SnapperDutch From Middle Dutch snappen meaning "to chatter, babble, snap" or "to snatch, grab, seize", a nickname for a talkative person, or perhaps a thief. Compare Schnapp.
StruijkDutch Topographic name derived from Middle Dutch struuc meaning "bush, shrub".
StrykerDutch From Dutch Strijker, an occupational name for someone whose job was to fill level measures of grain by passing a flat stick over the brim of the measure, thus removing any heaped excess... [more]
Ten BoomDutch Means "at the tree" in Dutch. A notable bearer of this surname was Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983), a German woman who helped Jewish people take refuge into her home during the Second World War.
TeneyckDutch (Americanized) From Dutch ten eik meaning "at the oak tree", a topographic name for someone who lived by a prominent oak tree. This has been a prominent family name in Albany, NY, area since the 1630s.
Van DyneDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of Dutch Van Duijne, a habitational name from any of several locations in the Netherlands name Duin or Duinen, derived from the element duin "dune".
Van EdenDutch Refers to someone from the town Ede in Gelderland province.
Van EyckDutch It means "of the oak", Eyck is a different, more archaic spelling of the word "eik" which means oak.
Van GentDutch Means "from Ghent" in Dutch, the name of a city in Belgium possibly derived from Celtic ganda "confluence; place where two rivers meet", or from the name of the Celtic goddess Gontia, tutelary deity of the river Günz#.
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 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 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 PeltDutch, Flemish Habitational name for someone from Pelt (formerly Pedele), Overpelt, or Neerpelt, possibly derived from a word meaning "marshy place".
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 RielDutch Means "from Riel" in Dutch, a toponym of uncertain origin.
Van UdenDutch Means "from Uden" in Dutch, a town in North Brabant, Netherlands.
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".
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.
VeldmanDutch Means "field man" in Dutch, a name for a farmer, or someone who lived by a field.
ZirkzeeDutch, German Could be potentially related to the German surname Zirkel or Zirkl. Another theory says that it has its historical roots in the Netherlands, particularly in the region of Zeeland, where it is believed to have originated... [more]
ZuidemaDutch, West Frisian Either derived from a toponym containing the element zuid "south, southern" (from Middle Dutch suid), or a patronymic form of a name beginning with the element swith "strong".