Berkhof or Berkhoff is a surname from

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

origin. The name falls under the so-called farm names. Such a name served as an

address An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along ...

in a time when street names were not commonly used. The name has two meanings. In the Netherlands that is 'birch-

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

' or 'birch- farmhouse'. To leave no doubt there would have stood one or more

birch tree A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

(s) in the yard. In Germany the name means 'farm on a hill'. The name is here a variant of the surname .Fenwick Jones, G., ''German-American Names'' (3rd ed. 2006), p. 91 and ''Beitrage zur Namenforschung'' XI (1976), p. 138

Origin

Fairly common practice in farm names was that the

lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industria ...

(tenant) of the farm and his family received the farm name as an addition behind the first name and the

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

. Primarily, however, was the name connected to the farmhouse and the yard. This meant that a new, succeeding lessee and his family could also become known by the farm name. This way several unrelated families can have their name derived from one and the same farm. Because the lessee and his descendants that had left the farm, often continued in using the farm name by which they had become generally known. In The Netherlands as well as in Northwest-Germany several of these farms-of-origin are known. The oldest known references of these date from the early sixteenth and even one from the end of the fifteenth century.

Notable persons with the surname

* ''Aster Berkhof'', pseudonym of the Flemish writer Lode Van Den Bergh (1920–2020) * Gé Berkhof (born 1934), Dutch Lieutenant General (ret.) *

Gerrit Berkhoff Gerrit (Gé) Berkhoff (Wijhe 9 July 1901 – Oosterbeek 27 February 1996) was a Dutch chemist and the first ''rector magnificus'' of the University of Twente in The Netherlands. Education The son of primary school principal Gerrit Berkhoff (1868� ...

(1901–1996), Dutch Chemist and first Rector Magnificus University Twente, The Netherlands * Hendrikus Berkhof (1914–1995), Dutch Preacher and Theologian *

Karel C. Berkhoff Karel Cornelis Berkhoff (born 1965) is a senior researcher at NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam. Berkhoff studied history and Russian studies at the University of Amsterdam, Soviet Studies at Harvard University an ...

(born 1965), Dutch Historian *

Louis Berkhof Louis Berkhof (October 13, 1873 – May 18, 1957) was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States, Canada, Korea and with individual Christia ...

(1873–1957), Dutch-American Theologian * Steven Berkoff (born 1937), British actor * Wicher Berkhoff (Russian: Vasily Ivanovich Berkov), (1794–1870), Dutch-Russian shipbuilder * Willem Berkhoff (1863–1953), Dutch Pastry Chef and founder first Dutch Vocational School for Pastry Chefs, in Amsterdam

Footnotes

Sources

* Marnix Berkhoff, 'Surname History (version 04/01/2010)', website
Berkhof-Berkhoff. 1500-2000

External links

Berkhof-Berkhoff. DNA Projekt
{{Surname, Berkhof and Berkhoff. See for people with the surname Berkoff, the page

Berkoff (surname) Berkov or Berkoff is a surname of Jewish (Berkovich) or Dutch/German origin (Berkhoff). In Slavic countries it is only used for men, while the feminine variant is Berkova or Berková. Notable people with the name include: * David Berkoff David C ...

Dutch-language surnames Surnames of Dutch origin German-language surnames Surnames of German origin