Surnames were officially recorded in French times. In the Netherlands this happened in 1811. From that time on, no new names can be added. In principle, existing names can no longer be changed unless there is a compelling reason to do so. The number of different surnames therefore only increases in a certain region or country through relocation and migration. A particular surname can occur in numerous variations, for example because the spelling has been incorrectly copied a number of times over the centuries or because of variations on the same root word.
System of first name and last name
Our name system has been based on two names for centuries, namely a first name and a surname. This was once different and everyone had only one name. That name was of course different for everyone, for the correct recognition of the persons. From the Middle Ages onwards, the two-name system replaced the one-name system.
Germanic peoples one name
Yet double names also occur before the Middle Ages, such as in the New Testament where a disciple of Jesus has the name Simon Peter. Among the Romans a number addition sometimes occurs, such as Quintus Horaceus Flaccus. But from the fifth century onwards, the Germanic peoples assigned only one name to persons. Sometimes, however, such a name consisted of two parts, such as the son of Bern and Hard who was called Bernhard or the daughter of Irm and Gard who was called Irmgard.
Origin of the name Janssen
In the twelfth century, certain names of saints became very popular, such as John, Nicolaus, Peter and Wilhelmus for boys and Catherine, Margaretha and Mary for girls. Due to this popularity, many baptisms were given the same name. In order to make a distinction, additions were sometimes used, such as the name Janszoon, which was used for Jan’s son. Later this changed, for example, to the common name Janssen.
Rise of fixed surnames
An important reason why the two-name system was introduced is the rise of the cities from the twelfth century. As the population increased, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish people with a limited number of names. The two-name system, with a first name and a last name, was a good solution for this. The surname was passed on from father to son, creating a fixed surname.
Development of two-name system
The development of the two-name system in our region ran from south to north. While the system of two names was already common in cities such as Bruges and Ghent in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it only started in the region of Holland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Even further north, the same level as in the Holland region was not reached until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There is also a difference in the introduction of the two-name system between the nobility and the remaining lower classes, with the same effect between the cities and the countryside.
Name choice to identify
The surnames once chosen often have a referring function that was often used to characterize or identify someone. Identification was often based on origin from a certain place, such as Van Boxtel, Van Aalst. The name of a profession was also chosen several times as a family name, such as Bakker, Vleeshouwer, Molenaar, and references were made to typical properties such as De Groot and De Lange. After entering that name, the reference was often no longer applicable, but the name was retained. The son or grandson of someone called Timmerman no longer had to be this and Van Boxtel could live in another place of residence. Even though hereditary characteristics were passed on, De Lange’s grandson no longer had to have a special height.
Variations in surnames
There are nevertheless a large number of variations in originally the same surnames. These variations are caused by different spellings of the original name or form variations and sound variations.
Spelling variation
When the names were created, Dutch was not yet a unified language. The spellings of names therefore contain variants such as Van Dijck and Van Dijk, Vandenberge and Van den Berg.
Shape variation
The same name can occur in different form variations. Based on the root word dekker, the variations are Dekker, de Dekker, den Dekker and Dekkers.
Sound variation
Different spellings of names that are based on the same root word have arisen due to
sound variations. Sound variations on first names are, for example, Derk instead of Dirk and Ruben rather than Rubin. There are also combinations of sounds, such as Anneloes instead of Anna Louise, which is how Wiljo originated from Willem Johannes.
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- Variations on given names
- Surnames in many types