Fw: Re: "Van" in names

[george.sand]

Mr. Juengling

I was obviously vandervelde, leftside, &  stand corrected! 

P.K.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: FRITZ JUENGLING 
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 4:36 PM
Subject: Re: "Van" in names


The German and Dutch forms have the same meaning--'from.' It originally meant someone from a certain place, that's all.  It certainly did not originally indicate knighthood, peerage, or nobility.  In Germany, 'von' was used at one time by people from all classes, but as the common folk used it less and less, 'von' became nearly restricted to and associated with nobility. Therefore, in German, 'von' became a marker of nobility.

However, this change did not occur in Dutch.  Dick van Dyke's ancestor, for example, was not the duke of dyke. He simply was the fellow who lived near the dyke.

I have also heard that a man had to pay a sum for the addition to his name.  However, besides the fact that this does not have the ring of truth to it, I, in my hundreds and hundreds of hours spent in genealogical research, have never been able to substantiate this.  No, no one had to purchase the the preposition in The Netherlands or Germany.

Fritz Juengling

>>> alastor.shelley at VERIZON.NET 01/27/03 10:43AM >>>
"Van" is the Dutch form of  German "von," meaning in English "of," as in Robin of Luxley (Robin Hood.) Originally it denoted a knight or peer who carried a surname indicating the land which he ruled, as a duchy, earldom, etc.

Paul Kusinitz
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Van Vertloo, Brian J. (UMR-Student)
  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
  Sent: Monday, January 27, 2003 1:14 PM
  Subject: "Van" in names


  Where does the "Van" come from in Dutch names?
  I've heard that a man had to pay some amount of money for the addition to his surname, but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

  Brian Van Vertloo