Although some families, particularly the nobility, adopted surnames as early as the 16th century, a surname was not common in the No. Provinces until civil registry of a surname commenced August 18, 1811 by Napoleonic decree when Holland was part of the French Empire. This system was adopted in the So. Provinces in 1796. Prior to this most Dutch names were patronymic, that is the surname was the fathers given name. Thus Hindrik Harms would be a son of Harm and Hindrikje Harms would be a daughter of Harm.
Mandatory Adoption of Surnames
According to the decree:
Those of our subjects of the Departments of the former Holland... who until now have not had fixed surnames and given names, must adopt them during the year, and declare them before the officers of the civil registry... where they reside...
Those having known surnames... will be excepted. They who wish to conserve their names will nevertheless be required to declare them. [The Naamsaanneming Registers (Name Adoption) records are maintained in the Netherlands Provincial, Municipal & Regional archives].
The surname which the father, or in his absence the paternal grandfather, has chosen or conserved will be given to all children, who will be required to go by it and use it in documents... The most common Register entries found are: A male head of house for his children and/or grandchildren.
A male head of house for himself.
A female head of house for herself.
A widow for her children and/or grandchildren.
A widow for her children by more than one husband, usually a different surname for each husband's children.
A stepfather for the children of his wives deceased husband.
A guardian for orphans under his care.
The full text of this Napoleonic Decree may be found on the Friesland Ryksargyf Homepage under "Onderzoek -> stamboom" .
Unfortunately for some descendants with nonsensical surnames, those adopting the surname didn't take the decree seriously, or thought it a silly decree that would be dropped after the occupation. Hence names like... well we wouldn't want to embarrass anyone, would we.
Origins of Adopted Surnames
Some patronymic, or matronymic, surnames were registered as the the family surname, i.e. Alberts, Hindriks, Jans, Gerrits, Willems etc.
Occupations and Trades such as Kuiper (cooper), Verver (painter), Boer (farmer).
Geographic origins such as Battjes (lived near a small bridge), Van Der Schaaf (from the Schaaf) or Van Stedum (from the town of Stedum), or from the names of houses, farms, estates or business signs.
Physical attributes such as tall (de Groot), short (de Klein), short neck (Korthals), the son (de Jong), brown hair (de Bruin) etc.
Foreign names of those taking refuge in the Netherlands i.e. the French Jedeloo (Jen de l'eau), Huguenot names such as Biesiot, Varossieau or Chabot, Jewish names such as Caun, Levi, Koningswinter, Klijnkramer etc.
Naming Conventions
Until recently the Dutch also adhered to a defined naming convention for their children. Although one can always find an exception to the rule the following usually prevailed:
First son was named after his fathers father
First daughter was named for her mothers mother
Second son was named for his mothers father
Second daughter was named for her fathers mother
and in some areas of the Netherlands
Third son was named after his fathers paternal grandfather
Third daughter was named for her mothers maternal grandmother
Fourth son was named for his mothers paternal grandfather
Fourth daughter was named for her fathers maternal grandmother
Fifth son was named for his fathers maternal grandfather
Fifth daughter was named for her mothers paternal grandmother
Sixth son was named for his mothers maternal grandfather
Sixth daughter was named for her fathers paternal grandmother
If a male child was not available to name after a grandfather you often see a daughter given a feminine version of the grandfathers given name. This is done by adding the suffix je(n), ke(n), pje(n), tge(n), tghe(n), tie(n), tije(n), tje(n) or tke(n). Thus Jantje for Jan or Kornelske for Kornelis.
Due to the high rate of infant mortality you often find many children in a family with the same name. For example if a son named after his fathers father died the next son will again be named after his fathers father and if that child died then again the same name and this continued until the child either survived to adulthood or there were no more children of that sex born. Other children were often named after grandparents or brothers and sisters of the parents. Also it isn't unusual to see a son born after his fathers death given his fathers name. Further when a widower remarried the first daughter was often named after his deceased wife and when a widow remarried the first son was often named after her deceased husband.
A more comprehensive discussion of Dutch Surnames can be found in the following:
Dutch Genealogical Research by Charles M Franklin
The Origins of Names and Their Effect on Genealogical Research in The Netherlands Genealogical Society, Series C, No. 28
Province differences
Drenthe surnames typically end in ing(h)e, in(c)k, ies, iens, heide and veen
Friesland surnames often end in a, es, inga, ma, n, ns, s, sma, stra or sz
Gelderland surnames often end in hof, in(c)k, ing or loo
Groningen surnames are much the same as Friesland but also end in sema, ker, tjer, huis or Wold
Limburg and Noord Brabant surnames often end in ers, ens or mans
Noord Holland has many mono syllable surnames such as Bak, Bijl, Bol, Vos or end in sz or x
Overijssel surnames often end in huis, ing(h)e, in(c)k or sen or start with ten or ter
Utrecht surnames are often Geographical and often begin with van which means from
Zeeland surnames often end in aert, g(h)e, ick, uck, se or sons or have French prefixes of de, d'or ver
Zuid Holland surnames are often prefixed with de, den, van, vande(n), van der or ver
Why can't I find my Dutch immigrants in America?
There are many reasons but the most common are that most of them adopted American sounding first names and\or the person recording the information, such as census records, spelled the name wrong. The following is a list of some commonly adopted given names for families immigrating during the turn of the century. Families that immigrated during the 17th & 18th centuries also anglicized their names however they choose names of that period such as Polly or Sally.
Additions are always welcome & can be sent to my E-Mail Address
Aaltje aka Alice
Adriaan aka Andrew
Aengenietje aka Agnes
Ate aka Otto
Andries aka Andrew
Anko aka Andrew, Andy
Annetje aka Ann, Anna, Nancy
Albertje aka Alberta, Alice
Albertus aka Albert
Anje aka Ann, Annie
Antje aka Ann, Annie
Aukje aka Agnes
Benjamin aka Ben, Bennie
Berendje aka Bertha
Bonne aka Ben, Barney
Dingenus aka Dirk
Diewertje aka Dorothy, Deborah
Drewes aka George
Eilke aka Elmer
Elizabet aka Elizabeth, Betty, Bessie, Lizzie
Elsien aka Elsie
Emil aka Mike
Enno aka Henry
Fenna aka Fannie
Freerk aka Fred
Geerdina aka Dina
Geert aka George
Geertje aka Gertrude
Geertruida aka Truus
Geeske aka Grace
Gerhard aka George
Grietje aka Grace
Heine aka Henry
Helena aka Lena
Hendrik aka Henry
Henricus aka Henry
Hillebrant aka Herbert, Herb, Harry
Hillichien aka Hilda
Hiltje aka Hilda, Helen
Hindrikje aka Henrietta
Hindricus aka Henry, Richard, Dick
Hindrik aka Henry
Jan aka John
Jannes aka John
Jantje aka Jenny
Johannes aka John
Jurrien aka Gerald, Jerry, Jake
Klaas aka Nick
Klaaske aka Clara
Kornelis aka Neil, Connie
Kornelske aka Cornelia, Connie, Nellie
Kunje aka Caroline
Lenbert aka Bud
Liefke aka Lizzie, Lilly
Lieren aka Louis
Lukas aka Louis
Nieske aka Nellie
Magdalena aka Lena
Maria aka Mary
Marinus aka Martin
Martje aka Martha, Marge, Mary
Nicholaas aka Klaas, Nick
Pieter aka Peter, Pete
Pieternella aka Nellie
Popko aka Ko
Reind aka Richard
Roelf aka Ralph
Saartje aka Sarah
Simon aka Sam
Stijntje aka Christine
Take aka Tom
Teeke aka Tom
Tjaak(t)je aka Kate
Trijntje aka Catherine, Kate, Tina
Uilkje aka Alice
Wiebe aka William, Bill, Billie
Wiestka to Winnie
Willem aka William, Bill, Billie
Willemina aka Minnie
Willemke aka Minnie
Zwaantje aka Sadie
Links to Dutch, Indonesian, and Canadian genealogy research.