Van Dam ("of the dam" or "of the water") is a Dutch toponymic surname.

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

is akin to the German nobility

von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de Go ...

and English House of, while Dam derives its name from the dam in Amsterdam, Netherlands' capital and most populated city. In some cases, especially when processed by English speaking people, the name developed into the derivative, "VanDam."

Places

* Amsterdam, Netherlands' capital and most populated city, founded c. 1275 * Dam Square, dam and town square in the Netherlands, founded c. 1275 * The New Netherlanders founded

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

and New Netherland in 1609, via the '' Halve Maen'' (English: "Half Moon") ship to modern-day

New York Bay New York Bay is the large tidal body of water in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary where the Hudson River, Raritan River, and Arthur Kill empty into the Atlantic Ocean between Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point. Geography New York Bay is usu ...

, which preceded the Pilgrims sailing attempt before reaching Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1620 (page 20). and English colonizers re-naming the land to New York City in 1665. * Fort Amsterdam, the center of trade and administrative headquarters for the Dutch on the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson and East rivers, established 1625 * The historic

Vandam Street Vandam Street is a street in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs east to west from Sixth Avenue to Greenwich Street. __NOTOC__ History On August 16, 1966, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Comm ...

in the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District in Greenwich Village, New York City, dedicated in 1966. * Vandam, a village in Azerbaijan

People

Andries van Dam Andries "Andy" van Dam (born December 8, 1938) is a Dutch-American professor of computer science and former vice-president for research at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Together with Ted Nelson he contributed to the first hyper ...

(b. 1930), Dutch-born American computer scientist *

Carlo van Dam Carlo van Dam (born 27 February 1986 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch racing driver. He is currently a factory driver for Subaru and he is the reserve and tear driver for R&D Sport in the Super GT Series while driving for Subaru Tecnica International ...

(b. 1986), Dutch racing driver *

Cornelis Van Dam Cornelis Van Dam is a Canadian Old Testament scholar. He was professor of Old Testament at Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary from 1981 to 2011. Van Dam holds degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University, Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary, ...

(b. 1946), Canadian Old Testament scholar * Cornelis P. G. van Dam (b. 1954), Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engr., University of California, Davis *

Danielle van Dam Danielle is a modern French language, French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech language, Czech, German language, German, Romanian language, Romanian Polish language, ...

(1994-2002), American murder victim * Dave Van Dam, American voice impressionist * (1827–1898), Dutch naturalist, explorer and museum curator * (1670-1746), Dutch mathematician and astronomer *

Johannes van Dam Johannes van Dam (Amsterdam 9 October 1946 - Amsterdam 18 September 2013) was a Dutch journalist and the country's best-known writer on food. Van Dam wrote a regular column on food for the national daily ''Het Parool'' for almost 25 years. Van Dam ...

(1946–2013), Dutch journalist and food writer * John Van Dam (born 1984), American football player and coach * José van Dam (b. 1940), Belgian bass-baritone * Joseph Van Dam (1901-1986), Belgian road cyclist *

Lex van Dam Lex van Dam (born Drachten, Netherlands in June 1968) is a Dutch investment manager, investor, and writer specialising in trading in equities, currencies and financial derivatives. He lives in London. Born in a small town in Friesland, van Dam s ...

(b. 1968), Dutch hedge fund manager *

Lloyd van Dams Lloyd Daniël van Dams (5 March 1972 – 29 December 2021), also known as The Tornado, was a Surinamese-born Dutch heavyweight kickboxer. He was a Dutch, European, and World Muay Thai champion. Known for his durability, van Dams was never knocke ...

(b. 1972), Dutch–Surinamese kickboxer * (1920-1976), Dutch boxer * Marcel van Dam (b. 1938), Dutch sociologist, politician and television presenter * Marinus van Dam (1929-1997), Dutch-born American inventor of the

jelly belly Jelly Belly Candy Company, formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company and Goelitz Confectionery Company, is an American company that manufactures Jelly Belly jelly beans and other candy. The company is based in Fairfield, California, with ...

bean and founder of

Marich Confectionery Marich Confectionery (pronounced "Mahr-ich") is a U.S.-based confectioner that was established in 1983 by Marinus van Dam, creator of the Jelly Belly brand of Jelly bean, jelly beans. The company's operations are located in Hollister, California ...

''Baltimore Sun'' obituary for Dam
/ref> *

Martijn van Dam Martinus Hendricus Petrus "Martijn" van Dam (born 1 February 1978) is a Dutch engineer and politician. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs from 3 November 2015 until 1 September 2017 in the Sec ...

(b. 1978), Dutch engineer and politician *

Max van Dam Max van Dam (March 19, 1910 – September 20, 1943) was a Dutch artist born in Winterswijk. He was murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp. Early life ( -1931) Max van Dam was the son of Aron van Dam and Johanna van Dam née Leviticus. Both ...

(1910–1943), Dutch painter * Nicolette van Dam (b. 1984), Dutch actress *

Nikolaos van Dam Nikolaos (Koos) van Dam (born 1 April 1945) is a Dutch people, Dutch scholar and author on the Middle East. He also was a Dutch Ambassador to Iraq, Egypt, Germany and Indonesia. Education and career Van Dam studied Arabic language#Arabic and Islam ...

(b. 1945), Dutch diplomat and Middle East expert *

Paul Van Dam R. Paul Van Dam (born October 15, 1937) is an American politician and attorney from the state of Utah. He attended East High School and graduated in 1955. Paul and his wife Mary Bailey are fifth-generation Utahns. He served as Attorney General of ...

(born 1937), Utah politician * (born 1952), Dutch politician * Rip Van Dam (c.1660-1749), New York Province politician * Rob Van Dam (b. 1970), American professional wrestler * Stephan Van Dam (b. 1959), American cartographer, graphic designer, information architect, and owner of NYC map publisher, vanDam.com which publishes the patented pop-up maps (or unfolds) and HistoryMapped *

Thijs van Dam Thijs Johannes Reinier van Dam (; born 5 January 1997) is a Dutch professional field hockey player who plays as a forward for Rotterdam and the Dutch national team. Club career Born in Delft, van Dam started playing at Ring Pass Delft. After ...

(b, 1997), Dutch field hockey player * Tonie van Dam (b. 1960), American geophysicist and geodesist

Derivatives

The forms VanDam, Vandam, Vandamm, and Vandamme are often indicative of a family of Dutch or Flemish origin which had lived for generations in a non-Dutch speaking environment, for example: * Albert Dresden Vandam (1843–1903), English journalist and writer *

Jerry Vandam Jerry Vandam (born 8 December 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right back for Régional 1 club Grande-Synthe. Club career Lille Vandam signed for Lille in 2003, playing for youth teams until 2007. He began his professi ...

(b. 1988), Ghanaian-French footballer *

Kevin VanDam Kevin VanDam (born October 14, 1967), often called simply "KVD," is a professional bass fisherman from Otsego, Michigan. He is the all-time money winner in professional bass fishing, having earned $7,089,388 through August 2022 according to Major ...

(b. 1967), American fisherman * ''Major William Vandam'', fictional British officer in Ken Follett's '' The Key to Rebecca'' * ''Phillip Vandamm'', fictional spy in

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's '' North by Northwest''

Animals

Van Dam's vanga Van Dam's vanga (''Xenopirostris damii'') is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. Males may be identified by their black hood whereas females have only ...

, a bird named after Douwe Casparus van Dam

References

{{surname Dutch-language surnames Surnames of Dutch origin

Places

People

Derivatives

Animals

See also

References