Dutch Names

Dutch names are also common in former colonies such as Surinam and South Africa. They are often similar to Low German names from northern Germany and pet forms are very common. The Flemish speakers of Belgium also use a similar stock. The letters j, y, and i are virtually interchangeable.

Naming Patterns

Children were often named after members of the family.

Diminutives

For male names, these are just a shortened form of the original name. Endings such as -je, -tje, -ie, -ke are also added. They are commonly used for children or to differentiate between a father and son with the same first name (the father might be 'Jan' and the son 'Jantje').

Common feminine endings are -the, -ke, and -ken. For girls, the usual diminutive suffixes -je and -tje (pronounced 'ch') are often used for the given name if the girl is being named after someone and are also used to create a feminine form of a masculine name, especially in Friesland. For example, the male name 'Hendrik' (Henry) has the shortened form 'Henk' and the feminine forms 'Hendrikje' and 'Hendrickje'.

This collection of names was compiled by Kate Monk and is ©1997, Kate Monk.

Copies may be made for personal use only.