I know many people of Holland have a "van" in their names. I just wonder what this "van" means?
2006-11-14 19:09:19 · 5 answers · asked by peterpan 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
"Van" simply means "from", nothing else
So, the surname "van Delft" means "from Delft" (a small city in Holland).
Before surnames became mandatory during Napoleonic times, people with the same given name (for instance the very common name Jan) were distinguished between each other by some additive. Sometimes it was "son of", like "Jan Pietersen" = Jan (who is the) son of Pieter. Often it was their place of origin, the name of a city, village or region, like the example I gave above "Jan van Delft".
When Napoleon forced everybody to adopt a surname, these additives often became permanent surnames.
Vincent van Gogh's surname "van Gogh" means "from Gogh", a city in the western part of Germany.
2006-11-15 00:49:05 · answer #1 · answered by Hi y´all ! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It means from, the second part of the surname is almost always a town name somewhere in The Netherlands or Germany or a country name.
2006-11-14 19:23:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From
2006-11-14 19:11:02 · answer #3 · answered by afrozzie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the word 'van' means 'surname' but i can imagine the 'van' in the surname means 'from'
'van' means surname and of/from
2006-11-14 19:47:59 · answer #4 · answered by -♦One-♦-Love♦- 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
"Van" signifies that their ancestors drove vans for a living.
2006-11-14 19:12:20 · answer #5 · answered by Brian 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋