Mandatory Adoption of Surnames

According to the decree:

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:

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