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This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is Dutch; and the pattern is *r.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BeerGerman, Dutch From Middle Low German bare, Middle Dutch bere "bear". Given as a nickname to someone who was thought to resemble a bear, a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear, or a habitational name for someone who lived near a sign depicting a bear... [more]
BlazerDutch From Middle Dutch blaser "blower", from blâsen "to blow, to sound (a wind instrument); to brag", hence an occupational name for a player of the trumpet or other wind instrument, or a nickname for a braggart or boaster.
BleeckerDutch Old form of Dutch bleker "bleacher", an occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, a launderer, or the owner of a public bleaching ground.
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.
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.
BurgerEnglish, German, Dutch Status name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English burg, Middle High German burc and Middle Dutch burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BussemakerDutch Occupational name for a maker of boxes, tins or firearms, from Dutch bus "box, tin, container, firearm" and maker "maker".
BusterDutch Related to German Buste "blister, pimple, pockmark, ulcer", ultimately from Latin apostema "boil, abscess".
CuvelierFrench, Walloon, Flemish Occupational name for a Cooper derived from an agent in Old French cuve "vat tun". Also found in the Netherlands.
DapperDutch Nickname from dapper meaning ‘brave, gallant’ in Dutch. Famous bearers of this surname include the American actor and model Marco Dapper (1983-), and Dutch physician and writer Olfert Dapper (1636-1689).
De BeerDutch, Afrikaans, South African Means "the bear" or "the boar" in Dutch and Afrikaans, a nickname for a person who resembled the animal in some way, such as being very large, strong, or aggressive, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting one... [more]
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.
DefoorFlemish Derived from Dutch voort "ford". Alternatively, can be a variant of the French surnames Dufour or Deford.
De GeerDutch, Swedish Derived from the town of Geer near Liège, Belgium. The town lies along the course of the river Jeker, which is called Geer in French. Alternatively, it could derive from Dutch geer "wedge-shaped piece of land".
De HeerDutch Means "the lord" or "the gentleman" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hêre "feudal lord, master, leader, gentleman". Could be a nickname for a person who acted as a leader, or an occupational name for someone who worked for a lord... [more]
De JagerDutch, South African Means "the hunter" in Dutch, an occupational name. In some cases, it could derive from the name of a house or ship.
de LaenderFlemish Possibly from Middle Dutch laenre meaning "stone falcon", a kind of small bird of prey such as a merlin or sparrowhawk.
DelgerDutch Possibly an occupational name from an agent derivative of (ver)delgen, meaning “to nullify” or “to exterminate.”
De PoorterFlemish, Dutch Means "the burgher, the citizen (of a city)", ultimately derived from poort "gate".
DepooterFlemish Variant of De Poorter, or alternatively, an occupational name for a farmer or gardener derived from poten "to plant, to sow seeds". Compare Potter.
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 RuiterDutch Means "the rider" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch ruter "freebooter, vagrant, robber", later meaning "cavalryman, soldier, armed horseman". It could also be a nickname based on an event, in one case deriving from an incident involving a ride on a runaway pig.
De WinterDutch Means "the winter" in Dutch, a nickname for a cold or gloomy man, or perhaps for someone born in the winter. It could also be a habitational name referring to a house or tavern named for the season.
DonkerDutch Means "dark, dim, somber" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion, or perhaps for someone with a gloomy demeanour.
DruckerGerman, Dutch, Jewish Occupational name for an operator of a printing press, derived from German drucken "to print".
DuysterDutch Derived from Middle Dutch duuster meaning "dark, gloomy, obscure" or "stupid, terrible".
ElsevierDutch The name of a prominent Dutch publishing house of the 17th and 18th century, possibly derived from Old Hebrew הל ספר (hal safir) meaning "the book". Another suggested origin is Dutch hellevuur "hellfire" or helsche vier "four from hell", supposedly derived from a sign by the family’s house.
FaberGerman, Dutch, French, Danish An occupational name for a blacksmith or ironworker, ultimately derived from Latin faber "artisan, creator, craftsman, smith".
GeerDutch From Dutch geer "tapering piece of land" (compare Garland). Can also be a shortened form of Van Den Geer.
GorterDutch Occupational name for someone who brewed beer or supplied ingredients for doing so, derived from either Dutch gruit, an herbal mixture used to flavour beer, or from the related word gort (also grut) "groat, grit, husked barley, pearl barley".
HaarDutch, Low German Probably from the place name Haar, derived from Middle Dutch harr "sandy hill".
HagerDutch, North Frisian From a Germanic personal name, either Hager, composed of hag "hedge, enclosure" and heri "army", or Hadegar, from hadu "battle, combat" and gar "spear" or garu "ready, prepared".
HelderDutch, German, Upper German, English 1. Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name Halidher, composed of the elements haliò “hero” + hari, heri “army”, or from another personal name, Hildher, composed of the elements hild “strife”, “battle” + the same second element... [more]
HelmeyerGerman, Dutch, Danish Derived from Middle Dutch meier "bailiff, steward; tenant farmer" and an uncertain first element.
HexspoorDutch Derived from Middle Dutch hicken "to pick, to chop" and spoor "spur", a nickname for a rider who often spurred on their horse.
HeyerGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a grower or reaper of grass for hay, from Middle High German höu "grass, hay" and the agent suffix -er. Could also be a variant spelling of Heier.
HeyerDutch From Middle Dutch heiger "heron", a nickname for someone with long legs. Alternatively, from a Germanic personal name composed of hag "enclosure, hedge" and heri "army".
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.
KemperGerman, Dutch From Kamp "field, piece of land", an occupational name denoting a peasant farmer. It could also indicate someone from a place named using the element. Alternatively, a variant of Kempf meaning "fighter".
KlaverDutch Means "clover" in Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of clovers or a sign depicting them, or an occupational name for a clover farmer.
KloosterboerDutch Occupational name derived from Dutch klooster meaning "monastery, convent, cloister" and boer meaning "peasant, farmer".
KnickerbockerDutch (Americanized) Americanized spelling of the Dutch occupational name Knickerbacker "marble baker", i.e., a baker of children's clay marbles. This lowly occupation became synonymous with the patrician class in NYC through Washington Irving's attribution of his History of New York (1809) to a fictitious author named Diedrich Knickerbocker... [more]
KoetsierDutch Means "coachman, coach driver" in Dutch.
KorverDutch Derived from Dutch korf meaning "basket", an occupational name for someone who either made baskets or used them, such as a fisherman.
LanghoorDutch, Belgian Means "long ear", from lang "long, tall" and oor "ear", a nickname for someone with large ears, or perhaps good hearing.
LauwerFlemish Occupational name for a tanner, from Dutch looien "to tan (leather)".
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
MakerDutch (Rare) An occupational name for someone who makes or repairs things, from Dutch maken "to make, mend, create".
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-).
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.
PaterDutch, German, English, Polish From Latin pater "father", used as a religious title for a priest in Roman Catholicism. Possibly used semi-literally for a man who worked in the church, or figuratively for a solemn or pompous man.
PlumerGerman, English, Dutch North German (Plümer) and English: variant of Plum, the suffix -er denoting habitation or occupation. Altered form of South German Pflümer, an occupational name for a grower or seller of plums, from an agent derivative of Middle High German pflume ‘plum’... [more]
RapierDutch Dutch: perhaps from Middle Dutch rapiere ‘foil, sword’, for someone carrying such a weapon, or form a topographic name Raepier ‘land on which rapes are grown’.... [more]
ReizigerDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Derived from Middle Dutch reisiger meaning "traveller, voyager", ultimately from Middle High German meaning "soldier on horseback". It is notably borne by the Dutch former soccer player Michael Reiziger (1973-).
SchilderDutch Means "painter" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch schildere "shield painter" (from schilt "shield"), originally denoting someone who painted coats of arms on shields. An occupational name for someone who painted houses, shields, or anything else.
SchruijerDutch Possibly a variant form of Schreier, from Dutch schreien or schreeuwen, meaning "to scream, shout, yell".
SegerSwedish, English, Dutch Means "victory" in Swedish. It is also a variant of the English surname Seager or derived from the Germanic given name Sigiheri "victory army".
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.
SpeerGerman, Dutch, English German and Dutch cognate of Spear, as well as an English variant of the same surname.
SpoorEnglish, Dutch From Middle Dutch and Middle English spoor "spur", an occupational name for a maker or seller of spurs.
SpringerGerman, English, Dutch, Jewish Nickname for a lively person or for a traveling entertainer, from springen "to jump, to leap". A famous bearer was Ludwig der Springer (AKA Louis the Springer), a medieval Franconian count who, according to legend, escaped from a second or third-story prison cell by jumping into a river after being arrested for trying to seize County Saxony in Germany.
StarDutch Means "stiff, frozen, rigid" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch staer "having a troubled or gloomy expression; tight, stiff", a nickname either for a gloomy person or for someone who was rigid and inflexible.
StokerDutch Means "stoker, one who stokes a fire" or "firestarter, agitator" in Dutch, an occupational name or a nickname for a troublemaker.
StrickerGerman, Low German, Dutch Occupational name for a rope maker or knitter (of hose, for example), from an agent derivative of Middle High German, Middle Low German stricken ‘to tie’.
StryckerDutch From Dutch de Strycker, an occupational name for someone responsible for measuring out cloth or grain. See also Stryker.
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]
SuurbierDutch Dutch cognate of Sauerbier. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer player Wim Suurbier (1945-2020).
TazelaarDutch Dutch (Zeeland) variant of ’t Hazelaar "the hazel bush", a topographic name for someone living by hazel bushes.
Ter HaarDutch Habitational name meaning "at the sandy ridge".
Van Den OeverDutch Means "from the riverbank" in Dutch, derived from oever "bank, riverbank, shore". Den Oever is also the name of a village in North Holland.
Van DerDutch Possibly a clipping of a longer surname beginning with van der meaning "of the, from the". Alternatively, could be a variant spelling of van Deur.
Van Der GeerDutch Means "from the headland", derived from Dutch geer "pointed piece of land, headland; spear".
Van MerrienboerDutch Occupational name for a mare farmer, derived from Middle Dutch merrie meaning "mare (female horse)" and boer meaning "peasant, farmer".
Van RensselaerDutch From Soleur, one of the areas or regions of Switzerland.
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".
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]
ZellerGerman, Dutch, Jewish Originally denoted someone from Celle, Germany or someone living near a hermit's cell from German zelle "cell". It is also occupational for someone employed at a zelle, for example a small workshop.