This bibliography is a list of resources I have used for the documentation of
names used in the Low Countries prior to 1600, particularly with regard to
spelling, orthography, usage, and etymology. This focus is consistent with
that of the Society for Creative Anachronism
(SCA), and notes on the usefulness of the
books are written with this purpose in mind; they should not be taken further.
Though all of these books have been somewhat useful, those which I have
found to be particularly good for names research are indicated by a red lion.
--Walraven van Nijmegen
This list was last updated 17 June 1996.
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Beele, Wilfried
Studie van de Ieperse Persoonsnamen uit de Stads- en Baljuwsrekeningen 1250-1400
Publication: 1975; 2 volumes; 177 pages (I), ??? pages (II)
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Bibliography, Alphabetical tables
Coverage: 1250-1400
Description: This is a study of people's names in the town of Ypres as
found in the records of the city and its bailiff (magistrate?). More
than 80 primary source documents were used, and these are listed and
described by the author in the first volume. This is followed by a description
and classification of the various name constructions as found in the
documents, and a study of how the use of these constructions changed over
time. Likewise, he presents the twenty most common names of men and of
women, and charts their changes in frequency over time. Complete
alphabetical lists of men's first names, women's first names, and last names are
given with listed variants. This is all in the first volume, and unfortunately I
do not have a copy of volume two.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Debrabandere, F.
Kortrijkse Naamkunde 1200-1300, met een kumulatief familienamenregister
(Anthroponymica XXII)
Publication: 1980; Leuven; 285 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Index, Bibliography, Maps
Coverage: 1200-1300
Description: This is an alphabetical treatment of last names used in the
city of Kortrijk, Belgium. Each entry gives several dated forms from various
city and other records, followed by an etymological discussion citing works
such as those by Dauzat and Morlet. Alternate forms given in these discussions
are not always dated, and should be used with some caution. Pages 203-215
index the first names given in the book, followed by maps which illustrate the
city and surrounding region for the period covered. These also show where
certain toponyms were used. The author refers to other works of his which
cover the same region for the 14th and 15th centuries, but I have not yet come
across these.
Recommendations: Excellent, but documentation from this book should be double-checked
Heeroma, K. & H. T. J. Miedema
Perspectief der Doopboeken, proeve van een historische voornamengeografie van Groningen en aangrenzende gebieden
Publication: 1972, Assen; Van Gorcump & Comp.; 86 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Maps, no index, no bibliography
Coverage: Mostly 1700-1725
Description: This work does a nice job of documenting names to
particular dates, particularly on the regional variation of three common
names in the northernmost Netherlands. There is little information given on
the source material, however, and the dates covered are post-period.
Recommendations: Scholars only, not for documentation
Huizinga, A.
Encyclopedie van Namen
Publication: 1955, Amsterdam; A. J. G. Strengholt; 328 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Indicies, short bibliography
Coverage: to present
Description: This book is handy when you want to find out what
category a name fits into (patronymic, occupational, enz.) and don't have a
dictionary. It is particularly helpful that the book is well organized, with a
short introduction to each section, followed by a long list of examples.
Unfortunately, the book has no dates of any kind, and therefore cannot be
used to document usage or spelling; its use is limited to general indexing.
Recommendations: Scholars only, not for documentation
Kunzel, R. E., D. P. Blok, & J. M. Verhoeff
Lexicon van Nederlandse Toponiemen tot 1200
Publication: 1989, Amsterdam; P. J. Meertens; 495 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Index, Extensive citations and bibliography
Coverage: 1st century to 1200
Description: This is the motherlode of Dutch toponyms (place names).
Entries are alphabetical, and include a description of the place with the name
of the province in which it is located. Each has a list of dated citations from
period sources, including many kinds of records, and a suggested etymology
for the toponym is provided. Best of all, a cumulative index is included which
gives all the variant spellings and indicates the root entry. Though no Belgian
toponyms are included, this is still one of the best references I know.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Leenen, J.
De Schrijfwijze van de Aanlopen DE en VAN in Geslachtsnamen
(Anthroponymica XI)
Publication: 1959, Leuven & Brussel; 69 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Bibliography, no index
Coverage: Mostly 1800-present, but some back to 16th c.
Description: Documents the usage of "de" and "van" for constructing
Dutch names. The best coverage is post-1800, but some information comes
from the 16th century.
Recommendations: Hard-core scholars only
Lemmen, Loren
Names from the Netherlands
Publication: 1986, USA; 89 pages
Language: English
Comments: Contents, Index, selected bibliography
Coverage: ???
Description: The fact that this book is in English makes it valuable. The
book treats the history of byname use in the Netherlands, and includes many
translations of name elements. It also provides modern examples for the
various categories of bynames (patronyms, geographic, occupational).
However, nothing is dated, so it cannot be used for documentation.
Recommendations: Scholars only, not for documentation
Leys, O.
Vlaamse Vrouwennamen
(Anthroponymica X, pars)
Publication: 1959, Leuven & Brussel; 28 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Citations, Footnotes, Alphabetical list
Coverage: 649-1225
Description: This is the first half of the Anthroponymica volume ten
(pp. 1-28, the full title of this portion is "De Oudste Vrouwennamen in
Zuid-Nederland), the second half of the volume being a work by J. Van der
Schaar (q.v.). This work is extensively documented, including source material
dated as far back as the middle of the 7th century. Dutch women's names are
the focus, and a list of these is given in two parts: those dated prior to 1100, and
those dated 1100-1225. The last two pages give additional information on the
frequency of the most common women's names from this work, and compares
the statistics with research conducted by other authors on later period.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Marynissen, C.
Hypokoristische Suffixen in Oudnederlandse Persoonsnamen inz. de -Z- en -L-suffixen
Publication: 1986, Gent; 481 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Extensive bibliography, Charts, no index
Coverage: Pre-1250
Description: This volume provides a long list (200 pages) of dated
spellings for Dutch personal names prior to 1250. The names are all cited
directly from sources, and this research provides the basis for the second and
third portions of the book in which Z- and L-suffixes are discussed. These
suffixes were added to the root personal names to provide additional variety.
The last 30 pages of the volume consist of charts which summarize suffix form
and usage by date and region.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Roelandts, K. & P. J. Meertens
Nederlandse Familienamen in Historisch Perspectief
(Anthroponymica IV)
Publication: 1951, Leuven & Brussel; 43 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: no contents, index, or bibliography
Coverage: ???
Description: This volume includes two short works on the subject of
Dutch naming practices. The first, by Roelandts, includes five pages of special
interest: solid documentation of name variants from individuals whose names
were recorded differently at different times. He also documents variation in a
few names over longer periods, showing shifts in spelling which may reflect
changes in pronounciation. The second work, by Meertens, also treats Dutch
naming practices, though without the many dated examples of the first.
Recommendations: Scholars only, documentation from this book should be double-checked
Swaen, A. E. H.
Nederlandsche Geslachtsnamen
Publication: 1942, Zutphen; W. J. Thieme & Cie.; 162 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents (in back), Index
Coverage: ???
Description: The volume is an attempt to describe the etymologies and
origins or the various Dutch geslachtsnamen (last names). It is
organized by categories (Latin origin, Biblical, Toponyms), and can thus be
useful for discovering the meaning of Dutch bynames; however, the research
suffers for failing to both cite sources and date spellings of entries.
Recommendations: Scholars only, not for documentation
Tavernier-Vereecken, C.
Gentse Naamkunde van ca. 1000 tot 1253: een bijdrage tot de kennis van het oudste middelnederlands
Publication: 1968, Belgium; 625 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents (in back), Indicies
Coverage: 1000-1253
Description: This volume actually comprises four related works: Deel I --
Persoonsnamen, II -- Bijnamen en Glossen, III -- Plaatsnamen, and IV --
Spelling en Klankleer. Entries are well-documented according to both source
and date, though their arrangement in the first volume is a bit haphazard.
Once you understand the basic organization, the book is rather friendly,
though large and heavy. This is one of the best references I know.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Van der Schaar, J.
De Hollandse Naamgeving in de Middeleeuwen in Zuid-Nederland
(Anthroponymica X, pars)
Publication: 1959, Leuven & Brussel; 23 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Citations as footnotes, no index
Coverage: Mostly 1311-1424, but includes 1127-1577
Description: This is the second half of the Anthroponymica volume ten
(pp. 29-51), the first half of the volume being a work by O. Leys (q.v.). This
work is not well organized for those looking for particular information, and is
not easy to follow if you don't know any Dutch. There is no clear theme
beyond its restriction to a particular place and time, and even those strictures
are violated by the author more than once. A number of pages include
undocumented lists of names, and these should be used with caution. There is
some good information here, but it's very diffuse.
Recommendations: Trained heralds and scholars, documentation from this book should be double-checked
Van der Schaar, J.
Woordenboek van Voornamen: inventarisatie van de doop- en roepnamen met hun etymologie
Publication: 1967, Utrecht & Antwerpen; Aula-Boeken; 332 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Extensive index, with variants, Bibliography
Coverage: to present
Description: This is the most comprehensive and well-organized source
for Dutch personal names that I have found, but is generally a poor choice for
documentation. The organization is not unlike Reaney & Wilson's book on
British names; each entry lists variants and describes the etymology. The
index lists all entries and variants, making them easier to track down, and this
list is also good for browsing for names. Unfortunately, less than half the
entries have any dates at all, and dates are not given separately for variants,
only for the entry as a whole. The book is invaluable for tracking down usage
origin and root names, but usually provides no evidence of a particular
spelling or name being used in period.
Recommendations: Trained heralds and scholars, generally poor for documentation
Van der Velden, G. M.
Het Oudste Cijnregister van de Abdij van Berne uit 1376
Publication: 1982, 's-Hertogenbosch; 177 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Indicies, Notes
Coverage: ca. 1376
Description: This book includes the text of the oldest local census from an abbey in
North-Brabant, accompanied by an alphabetical listing of persons mentioned (by given name),
cross-indexing the names with the entries in which they appear. The author has also prepared
lists of important persons, cities, streets, "settlements", feast days, and forms of currency
mentioned in the text. The whole is preceeded by a 40 page discussion with notes on the text
and its contents.
Recommendations: Excellent source for documentation
Winkler, Johan
De Namen, der Ingezetenen van Leeuwarden ten jare 1511
Publication: 1892, Haarlem; 34 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: no contents or indicies, citations in footnotes
Coverage: 1511
Description: The volume I have is apparently a reprint of pp. 211-242
from "Friesche Volksalmanak", though no information about this larger
publication is included in the excerpt. The source material are four volumes
called "Registers van den Aanbreng". This is a nice discussion of the names in
northernmost Netherlands, but it is neither organized clearly nor indexed.
Recommendations: Trained heralds and scholars, documentation from this book should be double-checked
Winkler, Johan
De Nederlandsche Geslachtsnamen: in oorsprong, geschiedenis en beteekenis
Publication: 1885 (repr. 1971, Haarlem); 637 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: Contents, Indicies, Short bibliography
Coverage: to present
Description: Like Winkler's other works, this is written almost as stream-of-consciousness, though considerably longer. The book is divided into 168 sections, as partially outlined in the carefully hidden Contents. The volume seldom provides citations or dates, though variant forms and etymologies are given.
Recommendations: Scholars only, not for documentation
Winkler, Johan
Helmondsche Namen uit de Middeleeuen
Publication: 1892, Helmond; 22 pages
Language: Dutch
Comments: no contents, indicies, or bibliography
Coverage: 1300-1500
Description: This is a reprint from "Noordbrabantschen Almanak" for
the year 1892. It is not a rich source for period names, but neither is it
intended to be. The volume examines naming practices in Noord-Brabant in
the SE Netherlands. There is a nice, though brief, discussion of name
construction patterns in the 14th and 15th centuries, and most names are dated.
Recommendations: Trained heralds and scholars
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