Why do Dutch people have funny names?

As a native English speaker living in the Netherlands, I’ve come across some unusual (for me) names. Some Dutch surnames are indeed rather amusing, or even insulting! So much so that a legend has formed around their origin; that these names were adopted in 1810 when Napoleon Bonaparte annexed Holland and forced the population to register an official name. But is there any truth to the legend?

Chapters:
0:00 An Exotic Beauty
1:11 Napoleonic Rule
2:34 The Patronymic System
5:03 Dr. Lazy Person

Read More:

[Soliloquy]

So YouTube Commentors, what is the origin of your last name?


And I gotta say, making this video made me acutely aware that a global pandemic (and not seeing anyone outside my immediate family) has really hammered my Dutch skills. My apologies if I mispronounced your Dutch name. I mean I've never been that great at it anyway but I'll use the pandemic as a convenient excuse nonetheless.

[Musicwithsprites]

As a Dutchie I always enjoy non-Dutch speakers trying to make sense of our language and cultural oddities. Keep 'm coming lad!

[ARTiculations]

My last name (which Chinese people put at the front) “Chen” literally means “old” which is becoming a more and more accurate descriptor as I age 🤣

[rvfabrice]

Congratulations for getting the girl eventually. I hope that she kept her surname or hyphenated yours to hers.
i've heard a similar patriotic origin story for some funny and sometimes quite insulting surnames in Algeria that were adopted during french rule. I guess the French didn't learn.

[jasperiscool]

Well, this explains your interest in the Dutch. ♥

[You_do_not_exist_Jack]

I like the quintessential Hollandish-ness of my surname, which means something like ‘the pile driver’. It’s an occupational name referring to the poles we ram into the ground in to build homes on in the marshes of Holland

Edit: I can't grammar

[lightningfirst]

My last name, Sanmiya, which is a shortened version of Sannomiya, means three shrines in Japanese.
People usually mispronounce it, but then again, so do I.

[wolves]

Some of the most underrated content on YouTube. I hope you get the views you deserve and that you find the time to come back to YouTube.

[ralphvandenheuvel]

As a Dutch person with a very inventive last name van den Heuvel (from the hill) I highly enjoyed this one. Especially the happy ever after part. Thank you for making my day.

[thetrison]

I have a Vietnamese birth name but I use Chinese pronunciation for it when I moved to New Zealand because it's easier and more familiar to English speakers to say. Is that inappropriate? Doesn't matter anyway because I have an English nickname as well. I've had no problem using the nickname since my first English teacher gave it to me. Not until some "woke" New Zealanders told me it's about "perpetuating colonialism."

[BobWitlox]

There are also many typical Frisian surnames in the Netherlands, ending with -ma, -stra or -inga. Such as Dijkstra, Abbema, Elsinga.

[popcat]

You should do a video about that electoral system referendum that NZ had in 2011 and why it failed, similarly to the cannabis video

[edenli]

I know it's been quite a while since your last update and I'm not sure whether you are still interested in YouTube, but I was a really big fan of your videos on New Zealand politics (there is so little quality content on that topic!) and wonder whether you're planning on making a video on the upcoming election this year?

[Aaronwhatnow]

Really like your videos. Keep up the great work

[JustDevon]

When in doubt, Napoleon probably did it

[reecev]

WHERE IS THE 2023 NEW ZEALAND ELECTION VIDEO!?

[Leto]

I'm Dutch and had a guy at school named Dick.
His mother named him well. :)

[danochy]

I was highly suspicious of the claim that Dutch names were chosen rebelliously and so I found some sources stating that it was myth, but not how the names actually came about. Thanks for the great video!

I used to be subscribed years back, so it's a bit of a blast from the past to see another of your videos. Sad that it's your most recent, but I'm sure you've got a lot else going on in your life besides YouTube.

[ythehunter]

Very cool video to watch as a Dutch person. My last name is Brantjes, most people think it comes from brand (fire) jes (small), so small fires, but it's actually from the name Gijsbrant, Brant (name) jes (son of).
Your pronunciation of Dutch names is pretty good :) Still not perfect of course, but a lot better than most native English speakers.

[napoleonibonaparte]

This video feels like Hilbert has an influence in the script.