Dutch Last Name Generator
Real Dutch surnames with their particles spelled right
Generate real Dutch last names, from particle names like de Vries, van den Berg and ter Haar to patronymics, trade names and Frisian names like Dijkstra and Postma. Particles are lower case, the way the Netherlands writes them after a first name.
About Dutch last names
A Dutch surname often starts with a small word. Van means from, de means the, van der and van den mean from the, and ter and ten are old contractions for at the, so van den Berg is from the hill and de Vries is the Frisian. These particles are called tussenvoegsels. The Netherlands writes them lower case after a first name or initials (Anna van Dijk), gives them a capital when the surname stands alone (Ms. Van Dijk) and files the name under D for Dijk. Belgium usually capitalizes them and files under V.
Fixed surnames became compulsory in 1811, when the country was under French rule and a civil registry was set up. Most families in the west and south had one already. In the north and east many people still went by a patronymic, and they registered names such as Jansen and Pietersen, Frisian names in -stra, -ma and -inga, or the name of their farm, which is where eastern names like Wissink, Nijenhuis and Oude Vrielink come from.
The rest are trades (Bakker, Visser, Smit, Mulder), nicknames and animals (de Groot, Vos, de Haan) and places. The list keeps the Dutch ij, which becomes y in many emigrant families: Meijer and Meyer are one name.
How to choose Dutch last names
- Let the particle follow the sentence. Write Jan van der Meer and J. van der Meer, but Mr. Van der Meer and the Van der Meers when no first name or initial comes before it.
- Sort the Dutch way in an index or cast list: de Vries goes under V and van den Berg under B. Put everything under V and D only if your setting is Belgian or American.
- Use the regions. Names in -stra and -ma point to Friesland and Groningen, -ink names and Oude, Groot and Klein farm names to Twente and the Achterhoek, and Janssen, Peeters, Hermans and Smeets to Limburg and Brabant.
- For a character from before 1811 in the north or east, a patronymic is safer than a family name: Jan Pietersz. or Jan Pieters, son of Pieter, whose own children would be Jansz. or Jans.
- Emigrant families often closed up or capitalized the name. Van Buren, Vandenberg and DeVries are the American forms of van Buren, van den Berg and de Vries, so pick the spelling that fits where your character grew up.
Frequently asked questions
Why are van and de written in lower case?
Dutch spelling treats them as small words in front of the name proper. After a first name or initials they stay lower case, as in Sanne de Boer, and they get a capital only when the surname stands alone, as in Mrs. De Boer. The list uses the lower-case form because a last name generator result usually follows a first name.
What are the most common Dutch last names?
De Jong, Jansen, de Vries, van den Berg, van Dijk, Bakker, Janssen, Visser, Smit and Meijer have long filled the top ten in Dutch counts. All ten are in the list, next to rarer finds like Nooitgedagt, ter Huurne and Klein Gunnewiek.
Did the Dutch really register joke names under Napoleon?
The story goes that people who expected French rule to pass registered silly names in 1811. Historians treat most of it as legend: odd-sounding names such as Naaktgeboren are generally older than the registry and meant something plainer at first. Naaktgeboren, Nooitgedagt and Niemantsverdriet are real surnames either way, and all three are in the list.
What do -stra, -ma and -inga mean?
They mark names from Friesland and Groningen. The ending -stra points to a place, so Dijkstra is from the dike and Terpstra from the dwelling mound, while -ma and -inga attach to a forefather, roughly of the people of, as in Jellema and Tamminga.
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All 500 Dutch last names
A: 7 names
- Aarts
- Akkerman
- Albers
- Alberts
- Andriessen
- Arends
- Arts
B: 39 names
- Baars
- Bakema
- Bakker
- Bartels
- Bastiaansen
- Beltman
- Bentinck
- Berends
- Berendsen
- Bergkamp
- Bergsma
- Bergstra
- Berlage
- Bicker
- Bierman
- Blauw
- Bleeker
- Blom
- Boerhaave
- Boersma
- Boom
- Boonstra
- Borst
- Bos
- Bosch
- Bosma
- Bosman
- Bouma
- Bouman
- Bouwman
- Bouwmeester
- Brink
- Brinkman
- Brouwer
- Brouwers
- Bruggeman
- Bruggink
- Buma
- Buys Ballot
C: 8 names
- Claassen
- Coenen
- Colijn
- Cornelisse
- Cornelissen
- Couperus
- Cruijff
- Cuypers
D: 57 names
- Daniëls
- de Beer
- de Bie
- de Boer
- de Bruijn
- de Bruin
- de Goede
- de Graaf
- de Groot
- de Haan
- de Hoop
- de Jager
- de Jong
- de Jonge
- de Keijzer
- de Klerk
- de Kok
- de Koning
- de Kort
- de Lange
- de Leeuw
- de Man
- de Mol
- de Munck
- de Nijs
- de Ridder
- de Rijk
- de Roo
- de Rooij
- de Ruiter
- de Visser
- de Vos
- de Vries
- de Waal
- de Weerd
- de Wilde
- de Winter
- de Wit
- de Witte
- de Zeeuw
- Dekker
- Dekkers
- den Boer
- den Hartog
- den Ouden
- Dijkema
- Dijkgraaf
- Dijkhuizen
- Dijkman
- Dijkstra
- Dirks
- Dirkse
- Dirksen
- Douma
- Douwes Dekker
- Drees
- Driessen
E: 8 names
- Eggink
- Eikelboom
- Eisma
- Elbers
- Elzinga
- Evers
- Everts
- Evertsen
F: 8 names
- Feenstra
- Fokkema
- Fokker
- Folkertsma
- Franken
- Fransen
- Franssen
- Frederiks
G: 16 names
- Galema
- Gans
- Geerdink
- Geerts
- Gerrits
- Gerritse
- Gerritsen
- Geurts
- Gijsbers
- Goedhart
- Goossens
- Groen
- Groot
- Groot Koerkamp
- Groot Wassink
- Groothuis
H: 32 names
- Haagsma
- Haan
- Haanstra
- Haas
- Haring
- Heeringa
- Hendriks
- Hendriksen
- Hendrikx
- Hengeveld
- Hermans
- Hertog
- Hesselink
- Hiddink
- Hiemstra
- Hoedemaker
- Hoek
- Hoekema
- Hoekman
- Hoeks
- Hoekstra
- Hofman
- Hofstra
- Hollander
- Hooft
- Hoogendoorn
- Hoogland
- Hovenier
- Huisman
- Huizinga
- Hulshof
- Huydecoper
I: 2 names
- in 't Hout
- in 't Veld
J: 10 names
- Jacobs
- Jacobse
- Jager
- Jansen
- Janssen
- Jellema
- Jongbloed
- Jongsma
- Jonker
- Joustra
K: 32 names
- Kamerlingh Onnes
- Kamp
- Kamphuis
- Kampman
- Kamps
- Kamstra
- Kastelein
- Kat
- Keizer
- Kerkhof
- Kievit
- Kip
- Klaasen
- Klaassen
- Klein
- Klein Gunnewiek
- Kloosterman
- Koekkoek
- Kok
- Kolkman
- Koning
- Kooiman
- Kooistra
- Koopman
- Kort
- Koster
- Kraai
- Kramer
- Kuiken
- Kuiper
- Kuipers
- Kuyper
L: 3 names
- Lansink
- Lemstra
- Lorentz
M: 12 names
- Maas
- Martens
- Meijer
- Metselaar
- Miedema
- Mol
- Molenaar
- Mondriaan
- Muis
- Mulder
- Muller
- Mus
N: 13 names
- Naaktgeboren
- Nachtegaal
- Nauta
- Niemantsverdriet
- Nieuwenhuis
- Nijboer
- Nijenhuis
- Nijhof
- Nijhuis
- Nijkamp
- Nijland
- Nooitgedagt
- Nooteboom
O: 6 names
- Ooievaar
- Oosterhuis
- Osinga
- Oud
- Oude Nijhuis
- Oude Vrielink
P: 9 names
- Peeters
- Peters
- Philips
- Pieters
- Pietersen
- Poelman
- Poelstra
- Postma
- Prins
R: 7 names
- Rademaker
- Reiger
- Reitsma
- Rietveld
- Roggeveen
- Roorda
- Roos
S: 27 names
- Salverda
- Sanders
- Scheper
- Schimmelpenninck
- Schipper
- Schoenmaker
- Scholten
- Schouten
- Schreuder
- Schrijver
- Schutte
- Schuurman
- Sikkema
- Six
- Sluijs
- Sluiter
- Smeets
- Smit
- Smits
- Snijders
- Snoek
- Spiering
- Spoelstra
- Spreeuw
- Sterk
- Stienstra
- Stout
T: 39 names
- 't Hart
- 't Hoen
- 't Hooft
- Tamminga
- te Pas
- te Riele
- te Velde
- te Winkel
- ten Berge
- ten Boom
- ten Brink
- ten Broeke
- ten Cate
- ten Hag
- ten Have
- ten Hoeve
- ten Hove
- ten Kate
- ten Napel
- ter Avest
- ter Beek
- ter Bogt
- ter Braak
- ter Haar
- ter Horst
- ter Huurne
- ter Maat
- ter Meulen
- ter Steege
- ter Veld
- Terpstra
- Thorbecke
- Timmerman
- Timmermans
- Tinbergen
- Tolsma
- Trip
- Tromp
- Tulp
V: 140 names
- Valk
- van 't Hof
- van 't Hoff
- van 't Veer
- van Beek
- van Buuren
- van Dalen
- van Dam
- van de Pol
- van de Sande
- van de Velde
- van de Ven
- van de Wetering
- van den Berg
- van den Bergh
- van den Bosch
- van den Brink
- van den Broek
- van den Heuvel
- van den Hoek
- van der Aa
- van der Burg
- van der Heijden
- van der Hoek
- van der Hoeven
- van der Horst
- van der Knaap
- van der Kolk
- van der Kooij
- van der Laan
- van der Lee
- van der Linden
- van der Meer
- van der Meij
- van der Meulen
- van der Molen
- van der Ploeg
- van der Pol
- van der Sande
- van der Sar
- van der Schoot
- van der Sluis
- van der Spek
- van der Steen
- van der Valk
- van der Veen
V, continued
- van der Veer
- van der Velde
- van der Vliet
- van der Wal
- van der Werf
- van der Woude
- van der Zee
- van der Zwan
- van Deursen
- van Dijk
- van Dongen
- van Doorn
- van Driel
- van Eijk
- van Es
- van Essen
- van Gelder
- van Gils
- van Ginkel
- van Haren
- van Hees
- van Hoof
- van Hout
- van Houten
- van Iersel
- van Kampen
- van Kessel
- van Kooten
- van Laar
- van Leeuwen
- van Lieshout
- van Loon
- van Maanen
- van Mierlo
- van Nieuwenhuizen
- van Noort
- van Oers
- van Ooijen
- van Oorschot
- van Oort
- van Oosten
- van Os
- van Putten
- van Raalte
- van Rijn
- van Rijswijk
- van Rooij
V, continued
- van Rossum
- van Santen
- van Schaik
- van Straten
- van Tol
- van Velzen
- van Vliet
- van Vugt
- van Vuuren
- van Wezel
- van Wijk
- van Wijngaarden
- van Zanten
- Veenendaal
- Veenstra
- Veerman
- Veldhuis
- Veldkamp
- Veldman
- Velthuis
- Veltkamp
- Verbeek
- Verbruggen
- Verburg
- Verdonk
- Verhagen
- Verheijen
- Verhoef
- Verhoeven
- Verhulst
- Verkaik
- Verkerk
- Vermeer
- Vermeulen
- Verschoor
- Verstappen
- Versteeg
- Verstegen
- Vervoort
- Verweij
- Verwoerd
- Vink
- Visscher
- Visser
- Voerman
- Vos
- Vrolijk
W: 17 names
- Wagenaar
- Wassink
- Wensink
- Wesselink
- Westerhof
- Westra
- Wever
- Wiersma
- Wijbenga
- Willems
- Willemsen
- Wissink
- Witte
- Wolf
- Wolterink
- Wolters
- Wouters