''Van'' () is a very common prefix in Dutch language surnames, where it is known as a ''
tussenvoegsel
A ''tussenvoegsel'' (, ) in a Dutch name is a family name affix positioned between a person's given name and the main part of their family name. There are similar concepts in many languages, such as Celtic family name prefixes, French particl ...
''. In those cases it nearly always refers to a certain, often quite distant, ancestor's
place of origin In Switzerland, the place of origin (german: Heimatort or Bürgerort, literally "home place" or "citizen place"; french: Lieu d'origine; it, Luogo d'origine) denotes where a Swiss citizen has their municipal citizenship, usually inherited from prev ...
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...
languages, meaning "of" or "from" depending on the context (similar to '' da'', '' de'' and '' di'' in the
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language f ...
).
In surnames, it can appear by itself or in combination with an article (compare
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
''de la'', ''de l). The most common cases of this are ''van de'', ''van der'' and ''van den'', where the articles are all current or archaic forms of the article ''de'' "the". Less common are ''van het'' and ''van 't'', which use the similar but grammatically neuter article ''het''. The contraction ''ver-'', based on ''van der'', is also common and can be written as a single word with the rest of the surname; an example being
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately suc ...
(''van der meer'' "of the
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...
").
Names in other languages may contain a component "Van" that is unrelated to the Dutch preposition. The very common Vietnamese middle name " Văn", often spelled in English text without diacritics, as in " Pham Van Tra", is a male given name, implying education.
Related prepositions
The preposition "''van''" is the most widely used preposition in Dutch surnames, but many others are also used, although not always recognised as such if the whole surname is written as a single word. Just as "''van''" all these prepositions used to indicate geographical locations:
* ''te'' — meaning "at" (or/of towards), (or ''ter'' and ''ten'', being the old
dative
In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jaco ...
forms), ''e.g.'', '' ter Beek'' (of the stream)
* ''thoe/thor'' — being the old forms of ''te'' as in '' Thorbecke'' (meaning "at the brook")
* ''aan'' — meaning "at" or "aside" (also in combination ''aan de, aan den, aan het, aan 't''), ''e.g.'', ''aan de Stegge'' (meaning aside the road)
* ''op'' — meaning "on" (also in combination ''op de, op der, op den, op ten, op 't, op het''), ''e.g.'', as in Op den Akker (on the field)
* ''in'' — meaning "in" (also in combination ''in de, in den, in der, in het, in 't''), ''
in 't Veld In 't Veld is a Dutch toponymic surname meaning "in the field".
'' (in the field)
* ''bij'' — meaning "at" (exclusively in combination ''bij de, bij 't): ''Bij 't Vuur'' (at the fire)
* ''uit'' — or archaic uyt (uijt), meaning "out" or "from" (also in combination ''uit de, uit den, uit het, uyt de, uyt den, uijt de, uijt den, uijt ten''), ''e.g.'' Uytdehaage (from
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...
or from the hedge).
* ''over'' — meaning "over" or "from the other side" (also in combination ''over de''), as in Overeem (from the other side of the river Eem (river))
* ''onder'' — meaning "under" or "below" or "at the bottom" (also in combination ''onder de''), Onderdijk, Onderwater
* ''achter'' — meaning "behind" (also in combination ''achter de'')
Achterberg
Achterberg is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is part of the municipality of Rhenen and it lies about 5 km west of Wageningen.
The village was first mentioned in 1417 as Achterbergh, and means "(settlement) behind the hill" ...
(behind the mountain)
* ''bezuiden'' — meaning "south of": Bezuidenhout (south of the woods)
* ''boven'' — meaning "above" or "up": Bovelander (up in the land)
* ''buiten'' — meaning "outside" or "in the country": Buitenhuis (outside the house)
* ''voor'' — meaning "in front of", (also in combination ''voor de, voor den, voor 't, voor in 't'')
* ''zonder'' — meaning "without": Zonderland (without land) or
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Pu ...
(without ''van'', e.g. without a surname beginning with ''van'')
Apart from these prepositions the prefix "de" (not a preposition but an article, meaning "the") is also very common. They indicate a property, quality or origin, as in "de Lange" (the tall one), "de Korte" (the short one), "de Kleine" (the little one), "de Groot" (the big one), "de Zwart", "de Wit", "de Rode" (the one with black, white, red hair or skin), "de Rijke" (the rich one). The most widespread Dutch family name is " de Vries" (the Frisian).
For Dutch people of French (usually
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...
) origin whose ancestors never modified their surnames to fit Dutch norms, the prefix "''de''" is a French preposition similar in meaning to "''van''".
Spelling conventions
Collation and capitalisation
Collation
Collation is the assembly of written information into a standard order. Many systems of collation are based on numerical order or alphabetical order, or extensions and combinations thereof. Collation is a fundamental element of most office fil ...
and
capitalisation
Capitalization (American English) or capitalisation (British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhe ...
of names differs between countries. In the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, names starting with "''van''" are filed under the initial letter of the following name proper, so Johannes van der Waals is filed under "W", as: "Waals, Johannes van der" or "van der Waals, Johannes". The "v" is written in lower case, except when the surname is used as standalone (when the first name or initials are omitted), in which case it is capitalised, as in "''de schilder Vincent van Gogh''" and "''de schilder Van Gogh'' ("the painter Van Gogh"). In compound terms like "''de Van Goghtentoonstelling'' ("the
Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...
exhibition") the "v" is capitalised, unless the connection between the person and the concept is or has become very weak.
In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, any surnames beginning with "''Van''" or "''van''" are filed under "V". So for example Eric Van Rompuy is listed under the "V" section, not under the "R". The lowercase spelling in a name from the Netherlands is respected but not necessarily differentiated in alphabetical ordering and its Dutch style capitalisation for certain usages is generally unknown and thus not followed. The painter's full name, however, having become commonplace, is usually spelled Vincent Van Gogh in Belgium. In
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...
surnames the "V" is always capitalised though a following interjected "''de''", "''den''" ('the') or "''der''" ('of the', 'from the') usually stays lowercase.
In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
the
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...
surname Van der Merwe would be listed under the "v" section as is done in Belgium and not under "m" as in "Merwe, J. van der"; however, South Africa follows the same capitalisation convention as the Netherlands (thus, one would refer in English or in Afrikaans to a "Jan van der Merwe" when the first name is included, but simply to "Van der Merwe" when the first name is omitted). In anglicised versions of Dutch names (as in Dick Van Dyke,
George Vancouver
Post-captain, Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his Vancouver Expedition, 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Un ...
,
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
), the "''van'' is almost always capitalised in the United States, but in the British Isles some families of Dutch origin continue to use the Dutch form (e.g.
Caroline van den Brul
Caroline van den Brul is a British television documentary producer and the author of ''Crackle and Fizz: Essential Communication and Pitching Skills for Scientists.
Biography
Van den Brul worked at the BBC for twenty-five years on factual progr ...
Dương Văn Minh
Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Di ...
, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu), there is no reason to use a lower case "v".
Concatenation
In some names, usually those of the Flemish/Belgian ones, and also some of the names of people from outside the Low Countries (with Dutch-speaking immigrant ancestors), the prefixes are
concatenate
In formal language theory and computer programming, string concatenation is the operation of joining character strings end-to-end. For example, the concatenation of "snow" and "ball" is "snowball". In certain formalisations of concatenat ...
d to each other or to the name proper and form a single-worded or two-worded surnames, as in
Vandervelde Van der Velde, Vandervelde or Vander Velde is a Dutch-language toponymic surname meaning "from the field".Vande Velde. Prominent examples include "Vandenberg" and "Vanderbilt".
Nobility
The
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
**Ger ...
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical e ...
of the Dutch "''van''", however, unlike the German "''von''", the Dutch "''van''" is not indicative of the person's
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
or
royalty
Royalty may refer to:
* Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc.
* Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family
* Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...
. ''Van'' has a history of being used by commoners and nobility alike to simply signify ancestral relation to a particular place, (e.g. ''Willem van Oranje'' "William of Orange [family">heOrange [family">amily.html" ;"title="heOrange [family">heOrange [family; ''Jan van Ghent'' "John [who hails] from Ghent").
Prominent people with "van" in their surname
*Abraham Van Helsing, fictional character (Dutch doctor &
vampire hunter
Vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in history and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampires a ...
) from
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busin ...
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''
*
Achille Van Acker
Achille Van Acker (8 April 1898 – 10 July 1975) was a Belgian politician who served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium between 1946 and 1958. A moderate from Flanders, Van Acker was a member of the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB–BSP ...
(1898–1975), fourfold Prime Minister of Belgium
* Harry van Kuyk (1929-2008), Graphic artist and designer
* Adriaen van der Donck (c. 1618 – 1655), lawyer and landowner in
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
Albertus van Raalte
Albertus Christiaan van Raalte (17 October 1811 – 27 July 1876) was a 19th-century Dutch Reformed clergyman.
Early life and education
Van Raalte did not set out to follow in his father's footsteps and become a clergyman. He was initially ...
(1811–1876), Calvinist preacher and leader of Dutch immigrants to Michigan
*
Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen (; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Van Halen. The band was formed in 1972 by Alex Van Halen, his younger brother Eddie, David Lee Roth, and Mark ...
Armin van Buuren
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...
(born 1976), popular Trance DJ
* Ben van Beurden (born 1958), Current CEO of
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...
plc.
*
Cameron van der Burgh
Cameron van der Burgh OIS (born 25 May 1988) is a retired South African competitive swimmer and hedge fund analyst. He is Africa's first home-trained world record holder and individual male Olympic Champion. He is married to long time partner ...
Cornelis Van Niel
Cornelis Bernardus van Niel (also known as Kees van Niel) (November 4, 1897 – March 10, 1985) was a Dutch-American microbiologist. He introduced the study of general microbiology to the United States and made key discoveries explaining the ...
(1897–1985), microbiologist
*
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
(1794–1877), business magnate and philanthropist
* Danielle van de Donk (born 1991), women's football player
* Dick Van Dyke (born 1925), actor and comedian
*
Dutch van der Linde
''Red Dead Redemption 2'', a Western-themed action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games, follows the story of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang. Led by Dutch van der Linde, the gang attempts to s ...
, fictional character (19th century
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
leader of America's
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
) from
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
'
Red Dead
''Red Dead'' is a series of Western-themed action-adventure games published by Rockstar Games. The first entry in the series, '' Red Dead Revolver'', was released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in May 2004. Originally developed by Capcom, ''Red ...
game series.
*
Earl Van Dorn
Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) started his military career as a United States Army officer but joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out. He was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict.
A g ...
(1820–1863), Confederate general during the American Civil War.
*
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
(1955–2020), guitarist of
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
Python programming language
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation.
Python is dynamically-typed and garbage-collected. It supports multiple programming par ...
* Gus Van Sant (born 1952), film director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician and author
*
Han van Meegeren
Henricus Antonius "Han" van Meegeren (; 10 October 1889 – 30 December 1947) was a Dutch painter and portraitist, considered one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century. Van Meegeren became a national hero after World War II when ...
(1889–1947), painter and ingenious art forger
* Hendrik Willem van Loon (1882–1944), author, historian and journalist
*
Henry van de Velde
Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium. ...
(1863–1957), painter, architect and interior designer
* Herman Van Springel (1943–2022), racing cyclist
*
Hoyt Vandenberg
Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg (January 24, 1899 – April 2, 1954) was a United States Air Force general. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second Director of Central Intelligence.
During World War II, Vandenberg was t ...
(1899–1954), second Chief of Staff of the Air Force of the United States for whom
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
in California is named
* Hubert van Es (1941–2009), photographer
*
Hubert van Eyck
Hubert van Eyck () or Huybrecht van Eyck ( – 18 September 1426) was an Early Netherlandish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck, as well as Lambert and Margareta, also painters. The absence of any single work that he can clearly be said t ...
(c. 1385/90–1426), painter
* Ivo Van Damme (1954–1976), middle-distance runner
* Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852–1911), physical & organic chemist, first winner of the
Nobel Prize in chemistry
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
Jacob van Ruisdael
Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achi ...
(c. 1629 – 1682), landscape painter
*
Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten
Jacob Louis Veldhuyzen van Zanten (5 February 1927 – 27 March 1977) was a Dutch aircraft captain and flight instructor. He was captain of the KLM Flight 4805 and died in the Tenerife airport disaster, the deadliest accident in aviation history ...
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered t ...
(1579–1644), chemist & physician
* Jan van Eyck (c. 1395 – 1441), painter
*
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company.
Life
Early life
Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. H ...
(1619–1677), colonial administrator and founder of
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
*
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for independ ...
(1547–1619), statesman
* Johnny Vander Meer (1914–1997), baseball player
*
John Hasbrouck Van Vleck
John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American physicist and mathematician. He was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electronic magnetism i ...
(1899–1980), American physicist & mathematician, co-awarded the 1977
Nobel Prize in Physics
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
*
Jon van Rood
Johannes Joseph "Jon" van Rood (7 April 1926, Scheveningen – 21 July 2017) was a Dutch immunologist. He founded Eurotransplant in 1967,
(1926–2017), immunologist
*
Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still mos ...
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
(1770–1827), composer and pianist
*
Mamie Van Doren
Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film '' Untamed Youth'' (1957).
Early life
Van ...
(born 1931), actress, model, singer and sex symbol
*
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
(born 1964), football player, manager
* Mariana van Zeller (born 1976), correspondent journalist
* Marinus van der Lubbe (1909–1934), person executed for setting fire to the German Reichstag building
*
Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in '' New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin ...
(born 1957), actor, director
*
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...
(1782–1862), eighth president of the United States
* Menno van Coehoorn (1641–1704), military engineer
* Michael van Gerwen (born 1989), darts player
*
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Robert Van Valkenburgh (born September 5, 1951) is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France, including public parks, college campuses, sculpt ...
(born 1951) landscape architect and educator
*
Monique van de Ven
Monica Maria Theresia "Monique" van de Ven (; born 28 July 1952) is a Dutch actress and director.
Life and career
From 1973 until 1988 she was married to Dutch cinematographer and director Jan de Bont, with whom she lived in Los Angeles for a ...
(born 1952), actress
* Nick Van Exel (born 1971), basketball player
*
Olivier van Noort
Olivier van Noort (1558 – 22 February 1627) was a Dutch merchant captain and pirate and the first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 246
Olivie ...
(1558–1627), explorer, first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world
* Paul van Dyk (born 1971), DJ/music artist
* Peter van Dievoet (1661–1729), sculptor and architect.
* Pierre van der Linden (born 1946), drummer and composer
*
Pieter van den Hoogenband
Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband (; born 14 March 1978) is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder.
Early life
Born in Maastricht, Limburg, he is the son of Cees-Rein van den Hoogenba ...
Rik Van Looy
Henri "Rik" Van Looy (born 20 December 1933 in Grobbendonk) is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period, nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian city where he lived). He wa ...
(born 1933), cyclist
*
Rip Van Winkle
"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls asle ...
fictional character from a short story by American author
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories " Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Lege ...
.
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Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
fictional wwe character (born 1970), pro wrestler
* Robert J. Van de Graaff (1901–1967), physicist, developed the
Van de Graaff generator
A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltage dire ...
Rogier van der Weyden
Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and dip ...
(1400–1464), painter
* Ronnie Van Zant (1948–1977), lead singer of the American rock band
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ( ...
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Ruel Vincent van Dijk
Ruel Vincent van Dijk (born 29 October 2002), known mononymously as Ruel, is a British-Australian singer and songwriter from Sydney, best known for his singles "Don't Tell Me (Ruel song), Don't Tell Me", "Younger (Ruel song), Younger", "As Long ...
(born 2002), singer
* Ruud van Nistelrooy (born 1976), football player
* Simon van der Meer (1925–2011), particle accelerator physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984
* Shane van Gisbergen (born 1989), race car driver
* Sharon Van Etten (born 1981), American indie folk singer-songwriter and actor
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Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...
(born 1950), musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey
* Thurop Van Orman (born 1976), cartoonist, animator, voice actor, screenwriter, produce, storyboard artist and director of
The Angry Birds Movie 2
''The Angry Birds Movie 2'' is a 2019 computer-animated action comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's '' Angry Birds'' video game series, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Rovio Animation, and distributed by So ...
(2019)
* Todd Van Poppel (born 1971), American baseball player
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Todd Van Steensel
Todd Bertram Van Steensel (born 14 January 1991) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher.
Career
Van Steensel was born on 14 January in 1991 in Sydney, Australia. Van Steensel has represented his native Australia on several oc ...
(born 1991), Australian baseball player
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Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.
(1944–1997), musician, and songwriter
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Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...
Willebrord Snel van Royen
Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (13 June 158030 October 1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, Snell. His name is usually associated with the law of refraction of light known as Snell's law.
The lunar crater Sne ...
(1580–1626), Dutch astronomer & mathematician
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Willem van Oranje
William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Rev ...
Stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
of the
United Provinces of the Netherlands
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
(1672–1702) and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1689–1702)
* Wolfgang Van Halen (born 1991), bassist of Van Halen
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Wout Van Aert
Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the men's elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He joined in M ...
(born 1994), racing cyclist
* Maerten Harpertsz Tromp, a famous Dutch admiral from the 17th century, was also known as Maerten Harpertsz van Tromp and even Maerten Harpertsz van der Tromp.
Roosevelt (name)
The name Roosevelt is an American toponymic surname derived from the Dutch surname Van Rose(n)velt, meaning "from rose field" or "of a rose field." The most famous bearers of this name come from the Roosevelt family, a merchant and political fa ...
, originally spelled "Van Rosevelt" or "Van Rosenvelt"
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Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...
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Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...