Dutch Last Names

Five Dutch last names per press, each with its recorded origin and its prefix, if it has one.

Dutch Last Names

  1. PijlFrom pijl (“arrow”).
  2. BerendsFrom Berend + s (“patronymic suffix”).
  3. PloegmanFrom ploegman (“plower, one who operates a plow, farmer”).
  4. BurgersFrom burger (“citizen”) + s.
  5. VisOccupational surname, from vis (“fish”).

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How it works

These Dutch last names come from a dictionary: 267 surnames, each with its recorded origin. De Beer is literally the bear, Dekker is a thatcher and Van der Sloot is from the ditch.

Read the full guide

Dutch last names: van and de

The dropdown, Prefix, keeps the 20 names with van, the 20 with van de, van den or van der, or the 22 with de, den or ten. A card puts the main word first, so Van Dijk reads Dijk, van, which is how lists in the Netherlands sort it.

Kinds, and the count of 2007

With Any prefix chosen, Kind under More filters keeps names from a place (69), a trade (49) or a forebear's name (41). Place in the count keeps the names of the top 25 in a count of 2007.

Tips
  • In the Netherlands the prefix takes a small letter after a first name: Peter de Vries, but Professor De Vries.
  • In Belgium the same names are sorted with the prefix, so Van Dijk files under V there.

Questions and answers

What are the most common Dutch last names?

De Jong, Jansen and De Vries lead the count of 2007 that Wikipedia tables, followed by Van den Berg and Van Dijk. The filter Place in the count shows the names of its top 10 and top 25.

Why are Dutch last names starting with van filed under another letter?

In the Netherlands the prefix is ignored when names are sorted, so Van Dijk stands under D. This page does the same: Starts with reads the main word, and the Prefix choices van and van de, van den, van der list all 40 between them.

What does van mean in a Dutch last name?

Van means from or of, so a van name usually points to a place: the dictionary reads Van der Sloot as from the ditch. It is not a sign of nobility.

Do Dutch last names have meanings?

Many do. Bakker is a baker, Visser a fisher, Smit a smith and Vogelaar a bird hunter. Each card prints the origin a dictionary or Wikipedia gives.

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All 267 last names

van 20

  • Beek, van Written van Beek. From beek (“brook, creek”).
  • Bergen, van Written van Bergen. From berg (“mountain, hill”).
  • Berkel, van Written van Berkel. Literally “from Berkel”.
  • Breukelen, van Written van Breukelen. Literally “from/of Breukelen”.
  • Dijk, van Written van Dijk. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “of (from) dike”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Dongen, van Written van Dongen. Referring to the village Dongen, related to donk.
  • Galen, van Written van Galen. Habitational, probably from Gahlen, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, or perhaps Gaal, a village in North Brabant.
  • Gogh, van Written van Gogh. Literally “from Goch”.
  • Helsdingen, van Written van Helsdingen. From van (“from”) + Helsdingen (“a hamlet in Vijfheerenlanden, Utrecht, Netherlands.”).
  • Keulen, van Written van Keulen. Meaning "from Cologne".
  • Leeuwen, van Written van Leeuwen. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “of (from) Leeuwen; likely also from other places”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Loon, van Written van Loon. Literally “from Loon (op Zand)”.
  • Oort, van Written van Oort. From oord (“place”).
  • Rensburg, van Written van Rensburg. From van (“from”) + Rensburg; possibly derived from Rijnsburg, a village in South Holland, Netherlands.
  • Rijn, van Written van Rijn. From Rijn (“the Rhine”).
  • Tilborg, van Written van Tilborg. Variant of van Tilburg.
  • Tilburg, van Written van Tilburg. After Tilburg, a city in North Brabant.
  • Tol, van Written van Tol. From van (“of”) + tol (“toll”).
  • Veen, van Written van Veen. From veen (“peat bog”).
  • Wijk, van Written van Wijk. Ultimately from wijk (“neighborhood, district”).

van de, van den, van der 20

  • Berg, van den Written van den Berg. Literally “of the mountain”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Berk, van den Written van den Berk. Literally “of the birch”.
  • Bilt, van der Written van der Bilt. Meaning "of De Bilt".
  • Brink, van den Written van den Brink. From brink (“village green”).
  • Glind, van de Written van de Glind. Equivalent to van (“of, from”) + De Glind (“a toponym”).
  • Heuvel, van den Written van den Heuvel. Literally “of/from the hill”.
  • Horst, van der Written van der Horst. From horst (“an elevated land overgrown with shrub”).
  • Kerkhof, van de Written van de Kerkhof. From kerkhof (“churchyard”).
  • Linden, van der Written van der Linden. Literally “from the linden(s)”.
  • Meer, van der Written van der Meer. Literally “of the lake”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Meulen, van der Written van der Meulen. Literally “of the mill”; see molen.
  • Sloot, van der Written van der Sloot. From van (“from”) + der (“the”) + sloot (“ditch”).
  • Veen, van der Written van der Veen. From veen (“peat bog”).
  • Velde, van der Written van der Velde. Literally “of/from the field”.
  • Ven, van de Written van de Ven. Literally “of the fen”.
  • Ven, van der Written van der Ven. Literally “of the fen”.
  • Wal, van der Written van der Wal. Literally “of/from the wall”.
  • Wulp, van der Written van der Wulp. From van (“of, from”) + der (“the”) + Wulp.
  • Zee, van der Written van der Zee. Literally “from the sea”.
  • Zwan, van der Written van der Zwan. Literally “of the swan”, with shortened vowel.

de, den or ten 22

  • Beer, de Written de Beer. Literally “the bear”.
  • Boer, de Written de Boer. From de + boer. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “the farmer”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Graaf, de Written de Graaf. Originated as either a nickname or a locational (nick)name, equivalent to de (“the”) + graaf (“count”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Groot, de Written de Groot. De + groot. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “The Great”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Haan, de Written de Haan. De (“the”) + haan (“rooster”).
  • Heer, de Written de Heer. Literally “the lord”.
  • Jong, de Written de Jong. Literally “the young”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Jonge, de Written de Jonge. Variant of de Jong.
  • Klerk, de Written de Klerk. Literally “the clerk”.
  • Koning, de Written de Koning. Literally “the king”.
  • Lange, de Written de Lange. Literally “the long (one)”.
  • Leeuw, de Written de Leeuw. Literally “the lion”.
  • Napel, ten Written ten Napel. From the farm name Ten Napel in Salland, a rebracketing of Ten Apel (attested as Middle Dutch then Apel, 14th c.), equivalent to modern Dutch ten (“at the, to the”) + Apel.
  • Ruiter, de Written de Ruiter. Literally “the horseman, the rider”.
  • Uyl, den Written den Uyl. Literally “the owl”.
  • Visser, de Written de Visser. Literally “the fisherman”.
  • Vos, de Written de Vos. From de (“the”) + vos (“fox”).
  • Vries, de Written de Vries. Literally “the (West) Frisian”, from the obsolete spelling Vries of Fries. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Winter, de Written de Winter. Literally “the winter”.
  • Wit, de Written de Wit. De + wit (“white”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Witt, de Written de Witt. Variant of de Wit (“the white one”).
  • Zeeuw, de Written de Zeeuw. Literally “the Zeelander”.

No prefix 205

  • Aalbers From earlier Aelbers, variant of Aelberts, a patronymic surname from the name Aelbert, Albert.
  • Aardema By surface analysis, aarde (“earth, soil”) + -ma.
  • Aelbers From Aelberts, a patronymic surname from the name Aelbert, Albert.
  • Albers A patronymic surname from the name Albert + -s.
  • Alberts From Albert + -s, a patronymic surname.
  • Anderiesen From Andries + sen.
  • Arends From arend + s. English Wikipedia calls it a patronymic, “son of Arend”.
  • Baas From baas (“boss”).
  • Bakker From bakker (“baker”). In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Barents From Barent / Barend + -s.
  • Bastiaansen From Bastiaan + sen.
  • Beek From the noun beek (“brook, stream”), or from one of several toponyms.
  • Berends From Berend + s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Berendsen From Berend + sen.
  • Bergsma From a toponymic; berg (“mound, hill”) + -s- + -ma.
  • Blom From blom, Northern variant of bloem (“flower”).
  • Blomkamp From blom (“bloom”) + kamp (“camp”).
  • Boer From boer (“farmer”).
  • Bogaard From bogaard, a contracted form of boomgaard (“orchard”).
  • Boom The surname is from boom (“tree”).
  • Bos From bos. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Bush (literally); woods/forest”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Bosman From bos (“wood, forest”) + man.
  • Brouwer From brouwer (“brewer”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Bruggeman From bruggeman (“bridgeman, person in charge of a bridge”), from brug (“bridge”) + -e- + man (“man”).
  • Brugman From brug (“bridge”) + man (“man”).
  • Bruynzeel From French Brunseaux, from Old High German Bruno + Latin -icellus.
  • Burger From burger (“citizen”).
  • Burgers From burger (“citizen”) + s.
  • Canisius Latin Canisius, from canis (“dog”).
  • Cools From Cool + -s (“patronymic suffix”), Cool being a by-form of Nicolaas.
  • Cornelissen From Cornelis + -sen.
  • David Ultimately from Late Latin Dāvīd, from Koine Greek Δαυῑ̈́δ, from Biblical Hebrew דָּוִד (dāwiḏ).
  • Davids From David + -s.
  • Dekker From dekker (“thatcher”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Dijkgraaf From dijkgraaf (“head of a water board”).
  • Dijkstra Wikipedia's table glosses it as “a (from the) dike”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Dirks From Dirk + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Doedens From Doede.
  • Doorman Occupational surname, literally “doorman”.
  • Doornbos The surname derives from doornbos (“thorn bush”) or from one of several toponyms.
  • Drees From Dré or André + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Drost From drost (“reeve, steward”).
  • Droste Perhaps borrowed from German Droste, or simply a variant of Drost.
  • Drukker From drukker (“printer”).
  • Duif From duif (“pigeon, dove”).
  • Evers From Evert + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Fokker From the verb fokken, meaning to breed livestock.
  • Franken From Frank.
  • Gans From gans (“goose”).
  • Gerrits From Gerrit + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Gerritsen From Gerrit + sen.
  • Glas From glas (“glass”).
  • Goedhart From goed (“good”) + hart (“heart”).
  • Groen Likely in some way related to groen (“green”).
  • Groot From groot (“big, large, great”).
  • Haas From haas (“hare”).
  • Harmsen From Harm + sen.
  • Haverbus From Hebrew חבר and ברוך, thus literally "blessed friend".
  • Hendricks From Hendrick + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Hendriks From Hendrik + -s (“patronymic suffix”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Hendrix From Hendrik + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Hermans Patronymic from Herman.
  • Hofman From hof (“court, yard”) + man.
  • Hondius Latin Hondius, from Middle Dutch Hondt (de Hondt, D'Hondt, Dhondt, Hondt), from hont/hondt/hond (“hound,dog”).
  • Huisman Compound of huis (“house, home”) + man.
  • Jacobs From Jacob + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Jans From Jan + -s.
  • Janse From Jan + se.
  • Jansen Reduced form of Janszoon, corresponding to Jan + sen; equivalent to English Johnson. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Johnson”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Janssen Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Johnson”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Jonker From jonker (“squire”).
  • Klerk From klerk (“clerk”).
  • Kok From kok (“cook”).
  • Koning From koning (“king”).
  • Kooi From kooi (“cage”).
  • Kooij From kooi (“cage”).
  • Koster From koster (“a caretaker at a church, sacristan”).
  • Kramer From kraam (“trading post”).
  • Krijger From krijger (“warrior”).
  • Krijgsman From krijgsman (“warrior”).
  • Kuijpers From kuiper (“cooper”).
  • Kuiper From kuiper (“cooper”).
  • Kuipers From kuiper (“cooper”).
  • Laan From laan (“lane”).
  • Landman From landman (“farmer”).
  • Landzaat From landzaat (“a farmer, a peasant”).
  • Lenstra Short for "Molenstraat" ("windmill street"), compound of molen and straat.
  • Liefting From a personal name related to Modern Dutch lief (“dear”) + -ing, a now defunct patronymic suffix meaning 'belonging to'.
  • Lieftink From either one of three farms attested in the Middle Ages as Middle Dutch Lieftinc, with all three being found in the Achterhoek.
  • Loos Flemish and Dutch surname, nickname from the adjective loos (“artful, cunning”).
  • Lorentz Ultimately from Latin Laurentius.
  • Marijnissen A patronymic surname.
  • Martens From Marten + s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Meijer From Latin maior. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Mayor (local official such as bailiff or steward)”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Melis Variant of Millis, which is both from Milheeze in North Brabant and shortened from the Latin names like Amilius, Amelis, Aemilius.
  • Meyer Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Mayor (local official such as bailiff or steward)”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Molenaar From molenaar (“miller”).
  • Mulder From mulder (“miller”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Nagel From the noun nagel (“nail”).
  • Nagtegaal From nachtegaal (“nightingale”).
  • Oord From oord (“place”).
  • Oosterhof From ooster- (“eastern”) + hof (“court, yard”).
  • Oosterhuis From ooster- (“eastern”) + huis (“house, home”).
  • Opdijk From op den dijk (“upon the dike”).
  • Opzoomer From Bergen op Zoom + -er, a city in the Netherlands.
  • Ouwehand Literally “old hand”.
  • Overhand Literally “over-hand” or "upper hand".
  • Pals Dialectal form of Pauls, patronymic surname from Paul.
  • Pelser From now archaic pelser (“furrier”).
  • Peters From Peter + -s (“patronymic suffix”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Petraeus From Pieters, meaning Pieter's (Peter's) son.
  • Pijl From pijl (“arrow”).
  • Pistorius From Latin Pistorius, from pistor. A latinized surname for a baker or miller.
  • Ploegman From ploegman (“plower, one who operates a plow, farmer”).
  • Poel From poel (“pool, puddle”).
  • Poels From Poel + s.
  • Polak Ultimately from Polish Polak.
  • Poort From poort (“gate”).
  • Post From post (“mail; post, position”).
  • Postema Variant of Postma.
  • Posthuma Variant of Postma.
  • Postma Of West-Frisian origin (i.e. from Friesland).
  • Prins From prins (“prince”), usually arising from nicknames after locations or attributes.
  • Pronk From the noun pronk (“flamboyance”), itself from pronken (“to show off, be flamboyant”).
  • Rademaker From a superseded spelling of radenmaker (“wheelmaker”).
  • Rademakers From a superseded spelling of radenmakers (“wheelmakers; wheelmaker's”).
  • Remmerswaal In reference to Reimerswaal, a drowned town on Zuid-Beveland, Zeeland.
  • Robbe Shortened from the personal name Robert.
  • Robben Spelling variant of Robbe; both are shortened from Robert.
  • Romein From Middle Dutch romein, from Old French Romain, from Latin rōmānus.
  • Schaap From schaap (“sheep”).
  • Schalk Probably shortened from Godschalk (“servant of God”).
  • Schimmel From the adjective schimmel (“gray”).
  • Schimmelpenninck Equivalent to schimmel + penning, originally a nickname for a miser.
  • Schipper From schipper (“skipper, captain”).
  • Schippers From schipper (“skipper, captain”) + s.
  • Schoenmaker From schoenmaker (“shoe maker”).
  • Schoenmakers From schoenmaker (“shoemaker”).
  • Slettenhaar The first element is a by-form of sliet (“wooden pole or stake”); the second element is haar (“sandy ridge”).
  • Slotemaker From Middle Dutch Slotemaker, from Middle Dutch slotemaker (“lock-maker; locksmith”).
  • Smeets From smid (“smith”) + -s, being a specifically Limburgish variant.
  • Smid From smid (“smith”).
  • Smit From smid (“smith”). In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Smits Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Smith”. In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Snijder From snijder (“tailor”).
  • Spaan Probably a metonymic surname from the noun spaan (“chip, shaving”), as a similar surname is found as German Span.
  • Spaans Middle Dutch spaensch, equivalent to Spanje (“Spain”) + -s.
  • Springintveld From spring in 't veld (“jump in the field”).
  • Steen From steen (“stone”).
  • Stevens From Steven + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Stofberg From stof (“dust”) + berg (“mountain”).
  • Stok From stok (“stick”).
  • Stoker From stoker (“one who stokes fuel”).
  • Tasman From tas (“purse, pouch”) + man (“person, man”).
  • Tempelman Compound of tempel (“temple”) + man.
  • Thomas Middle Dutch thomas, from Latin Thōmās, from Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς, from Aramaic תאומא.
  • Timmer From timmeren (“to perform carpentry, to build”).
  • Timmerman From timmerman (“carpenter”), literally “timber man”.
  • Timmermans From Timmerman + s.
  • Tol From the noun tol (“toll”).
  • Tromp From trompet (“trumpet”).
  • Uittenbogaard From Middle Dutch uten Bôomgaert, reanalysable as uit (“from”) + den (“the”) + boomgaard (“orchard”).
  • Valk From the noun valk (“falcon”).
  • Veerman From veerman (“ferryman”).
  • Vegter Patronymic surname from a now superseded spelling of Vechter, from Middle Dutch Vechter, Vegter.
  • Venetiaan From Venetië (“Venice”) + aan.
  • Verbeek Contraction of van der Beek; beek is Dutch for “brook, creek”.
  • Verbrugge Contraction of van der Brugge; brug is Dutch for “bridge”.
  • Vercammen Contraction of van der Cammen.
  • Vercauteren Contraction of van der Cauteren, from kouter (“agricultural land, field”).
  • Verhoeven From van der hoeve (“farmstead”).
  • Verhofstadt Contraction of van der Hofstadt.
  • Verkade Contraction of van der Kade; kade is Dutch for “quay, wharf”.
  • Verkerk Contraction of van der Kerk; kerk is Dutch for “church”.
  • Verlaan Contraction of van der Laan; laan is Dutch for “lane, avenue”.
  • Verlinden Contraction of van der Linden (“from the linden(s)”).
  • Vermeer Contraction of van der Meer (“of the lake”).
  • Vermeij Contraction of van der Meij.
  • Vermeulen Contraction of van der Meulen, from a variant of molen (“mill”).
  • Vermeyen Contraction of van der Meyen.
  • Verschoor Contraction of van der Schoor.
  • Verschuren Contraction of van der Scuren.
  • Verschuur Contraction of van der Schuur; schuur is Dutch for “barn”.
  • Versluis Contraction of van der Sluis; sluis is Dutch for “sluice, lock”.
  • Verstappen A contraction of the surname van der Stappen.
  • Versteeg Contraction of van der Steeg; steeg is Dutch for “alleyway, lane”.
  • Verstegen Contraction of van der Stegen.
  • Vervoort Contraction of van der Voort.
  • Verweij Contraction of van der Weij.
  • Vis Occupational surname, from vis (“fish”).
  • Visser From visser. Wikipedia's table glosses it as “Fisher”. In the top 10 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Vissers From visser (“fisherman”) + s.
  • Vogelaar From vogelaar (“bird hunter”).
  • Vonk From vonk (“spark”).
  • Vos From vos (“fox”). In the top 25 of the Dutch count of 2007.
  • Westerveld From wester- (“western”) + veld (“field”).
  • Willems From Willem + -s (“patronymic suffix”).
  • Willemsen From Willem + sen.
  • Winter Literally “winter”.
  • Witte From witte, a form of wit (“white”).
  • Zeldenrust The surname derives from a combination of zelden (“rarely”) and rust (“rest”), or from one of several toponyms.
  • Zoet Matronymic, related to zoet (“sweet”).
  • Zonneveld Compound of zon (“sun”) + -e- + veld (“field”).
  • Zwaan From zwaan (“swan”).
  • Zwart From zwart (“black”).
How this list was compiled

A list by a written rule, built on 2 October 2026 and corrected the same day after a second reading. A surname is listed when English Wiktionary has a Dutch surname entry for it (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Dutch_surnames, 769 entries that day, CC BY-SA 4.0) and the entry's etymology opens with a sentence that could be read plainly, which the card prints; 446 entries state no such origin and are left out, and 24 written the Belgian way, with a capital prefix after a first name, are left to a list for Belgium. The second reading took out 31 more: names the dictionary or English Wikipedia ties to Belgium, South Africa, Suriname or Indonesia more than to the Netherlands (Peeters, Vermeersch, Vermeiren, Verschueren, Verstraete, Vervaeke, Vandievoet, Degeyter, Van der Merwe, Madretsma, Zeefuik, Oei); names borrowed whole from another language (Butler, Champagne, Rothschild); entries whose sentence tells the history of a place and not of the surname, or gives no origin a reader could use (Biert, Corlaer, Maurik, Maas, Eigersma, Gerlach, Grootendijk, Grotius, Bergman, Bergmans, Van Beuren, Borst, Spoor, Top); and two that only point to a spelling the dictionary gives no origin for (Ten Kate, Couperus). Dutch is also the language of Flanders, so some names on the list are carried in Belgium as well. Where an entry names a Dutch word without its meaning (From schaap), the card adds the meaning from that word's own Dutch entry in the same dictionary (sheep), read the same day. The names of the table of the Netherlands in English Wikipedia's 'List of most common surnames in European countries' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_European_countries#Netherlands, 27 spellings in 25 places, from a count of September 2007 that the article credits to the Corpus of Family Names in the Netherlands of the Meertens Institute) are listed, all but the second spelling Van Dyk, which has no Dutch entry; where the dictionary gives one of them no origin, the card prints the gloss of that table and says so. A card says only that a name is in the top 10 or the top 25 of that count: no figure is printed, because the count's own terms were not read. The card's text puts the main word first and the prefix after it (Dijk, van), as lists in the Netherlands sort, and the first sentence of the card writes the name in full. The prefix groups are read from the spelling; den Uyl and ten Napel stand with the de names. A kind (a place, a trade, a forebear's name, a nickname) is marked where the entry files the name under one, where its sentence says so, or where the meaning the card prints is itself a trade; every name with van or ten and every contraction of van der (Verbeek, Vermeer) counts as a place; 163 cards carry a kind. Arends prints English Wikipedia's reading of the name (a patronymic, son of Arend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arends, read the same day), because the dictionary's sentence names only the word arend. How the prefix is written and sorted is from English Wikipedia's 'Tussenvoegsel' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tussenvoegsel). An origin is what a dictionary records for the surname in general, not for any one family. No reader of Dutch has checked this page. Every card keeps the address of its entry. Licence: English Wiktionary and English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The rule, the selection and the groups are our own work.