Names & naming customs

Van, de, van der: capitals in surnames (Netherlands)

• In the Netherlands the tussenvoegsel is lowercase after a first name or initial: Vincent van Gogh, J. de Vries. Without a first name it gets a capital: meneer Van Gogh, de familie De Vries, Van Gogh schilderde…. In Belgium names are written as registered, often always with a capital: Herman Van Rompuy.
• Dutch alphabetical lists sort by the main part of the surname: Gogh, V. van under G (Belgian lists usually under V).
• Many Dutch people have several official first names (traditionally doopnamen) but use one roepnaam, which may look quite different: officially Johannes Wilhelmus, called Hans. Formal documents use initials: J.W. de Boer.
• Vernoemen: traditionally, in many regions, the first son was named after the paternal grandfather and the first daughter after the paternal grandmother.
• Patronymics (Jansen, Pieterse) were common until fixed surnames became compulsory under Napoleon in 1811; the popular story that people deliberately chose silly names is largely a myth. Since 2024, children can be given a dubbele achternaam combining both parents' names.