Dutch surnames arose following the arrival of the French when Napoléon joined the country to the French empire. It is a curious anecdote, little known, and that has lasted until today.
As you know, the Netherlands belonged to the Spanish for many years. It was during the empire of Charles V and with his son Philip II. Although the latter, Catholic to the extreme, did not see the Protestant Reformation in the region well, so he began a persecution that, together with other centralist decisions, earned the antipathy of all the Dutch and ended the 80 Years’ War and the independence of the region.
After this, the Dutch began a time of prosperity, protecting the arts, creating new ships to trade with, for example, New York, and conquering former Portuguese colonies in America and Africa.
Dutch surnames
However, this peace, which lasted about two hundred years, came to an end with the appearance of Napoleon. The Netherlands was incorporated into the First French Empire for four years.
Then, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, and later, the independence of Belgium would come. But that’s a topic for another day.
What does Van mean in Dutch?
The origin of Dutch surnames comes from the French occupation. The French were surprised because the inhabitants of the Netherlands did not have surnames and could not create a census to collect taxes with only their names. Until now, they identified themselves with their professions, place of residence, or family origin.
The French decided that everyone should have a last name, as they also gave names to the streets and numbers to the houses because the Dutch only put images of their professions at the entrance of their houses, like the one in the photograph that heads this article.
The fact is that many Dutch people decided to use as their surname the form with which they were already known, which is why there are now so many surnames that begin with Van. Only with footballers do we have a few: Van Dijk (from the dams), Van Basten (from the crust), or Van der Vaart (from the canal).
Dutch surnames of famous people
Below are some of the Dutch surnames used in fiction and that are well known for it.
- Last name Van der Woodsen: It is the last name used by Serena, a character played by Blake Lively in the television series Gossip Girl. It is not a real surname, although if it were, its meaning would be Woodsen, which is another word that does not exist in Dutch.
- Last name Van Houten: It is the last name of Milhouse, the character from the animated series The Simpsons. This surname refers to the city of Houten, located near Utrecht. Therefore, its meaning would be “from Houten.”
- Surname Van der Poel: it is the surname of Mathieu Van der Poel, one of the most important cyclists today, winner of the road world championship and the cyclocross world championship. It means what you imagine, that it comes from the pool, although it could also be identified with a swamp.
- The Dutch surnames of royalty are Orange-Nassau, a dynasty initiated after the marriage between Henry III of Nassau-Breda (German) and Claudia de Châlon (French). That of his son René of Châlon, who, upon dying in battle, was succeeded by his nephew William of Orange in 1544. And, since then, the Dutch royal family has been called Orange-Nassau. The current successor to the throne is Catherine Amalia, who holds the title of Princess of Orange-Nassau.