{"id":77,"date":"2009-06-30T22:44:20","date_gmt":"2009-07-01T02:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=77"},"modified":"2009-06-30T22:44:20","modified_gmt":"2009-07-01T02:44:20","slug":"dutch-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dutch names can be very long. Usually the maximum number of names one person has is five, but that can vary by person. It can get really ridiculous; especially the names that belong to the royal family. Take a look at this royal’s name: Willem Alexander Frederik Constantijn Nicolaas Michiel, Prins der Nederlanden, Prins van Oranje-Nassau<\/strong>. In English, this would be: William Alexander Frederick Constantine Nicholas Michael Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau. Yeah, no joke.<\/p>\n

If you look closely at the origins of Dutch names, you’ll see that many of them have Germanic origins. This isn’t surprising considering that the Dutch have a long history with Germanic tribes stemming from the pre Mediaeval period.<\/p>\n

In terms of last names, the origins of last names can fall into several types of categories. Some last names give clues about an ancestor’s place of geographic location. For example, some Dutch last names contain “van” which can mean “of” or “from.” So a name like Willem van Oranje<\/strong> will be William of Orange in English.<\/p>\n

There are also last names that indicate an ancestor’s occupation. A surname of Smit<\/strong> could mean that this person’s family belonged to a family of blacksmiths. This could also stand true for those with last names pertaining to animals. Someone with a last name “Vogels<\/strong>” could have belonged to a family tending to birds. However, surnames with animals could also\u00a0belong to the category of surnames refering to physical appearnce.\u00a0Someone with a last name of Vogels<\/strong> could have had a beak-like nose. It makes you wonder, what would a surname like De Groot<\/strong> mean? De Groot<\/strong> means “the big one”. Is that in reference to height, weight? I was going to make a dirty joke here, but never mind.<\/p>\n

Some Dutch surnames can sound awfully pretenious. Names like De Koninck<\/strong> (king) attest to this category. Some are very humorous like Naaktgeboren<\/strong>, which literally means “born naked”. This goes\u00a0back to the time when Napoleon annexed the Netherlands. When the Dutch went to register their names in the national census, they made up riduculous names in protest.<\/p>\n

In addition, many Dutch children have both a doopnaam<\/strong> or a Christian name and a roepnaaam<\/strong> or the name that they are called at home. The Christian name would usually be named after saints. After WWII, foreign names like Maikol<\/strong> or Michael were also popular.<\/p>\n

I’m gonna\u00a0end this post by asking the readers of this blog, what is your Dutch name?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dutch names can be very long. Usually the maximum number of names one person has is five, but that can vary by person. It can get really ridiculous; especially the names that belong to the royal family. Take a look at this royal’s name: Willem Alexander Frederik Constantijn Nicolaas Michiel, Prins der Nederlanden, Prins van…<\/p>\n

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