What Do the Dutch Speak?
Dutch is a West Germanic language. It is the language that 90% of the Dutch people speak in the Netherlands. Many people in Belgium (a neighboring country in Europe) and Suriname (a country in South America) also speak Dutch. The Dutch language in Belgium is called Flemish. Dutch is closely related to the German and English languages. There are about twenty-five dialects of Dutch used in the Netherlands today. The second official language in the Netherlands is Friesian. Over 500,000 people speak this language.
Dutch Names
The Ten Most Popular Girls’ Names
- Emma
- Julia
- Sophie
- Lotte
- Isa
- Lisa
- Saar
- Lieke
- Eva
- Anna
The Ten Most Popular Boys’ Names
- Daan
- Shem
- Milan
- Levi
- Luuk
- Luca
- Jayden
- Thomas
- Stijn
- Jesse
Common Dutch Last Names (vd stands for van der, a common beginning of a last name)
- Bakker – Baker
- Bijl, vd – From the axe, i.e. descended from woodcutters
- Bos – Forest
- Berg, vd – From the hill
- Boer, de – Farmer
- Boor, vd – Farmer or simple person
- Brouwer – Brewer
- Buskirk, van – Literally “bush church”, or “church in the woods”
- Citroen – Lemon
- Dijkstra – From the dike
- Graaf, de – The count/earl
- Byl, vd – Americaization of “Van der Bill”
- Coevorden, van
- Dekker – Thatcher
- Dijk, Dyk, Dyck, Deijck, van – From the dike
- Fikse
- Fixe
- Groot, de – The big/great
- Haan, de – Rooster
- Hendriks – Henry’s son
- Hoff, van het – From the servant/garden
- Leeuwen, van – From Leeuwen/Leuven; Levi
- Janssen – John’s son
- Jong, de – Junior
- Jansen – John’s son
- Koning, Koningh, de – King
- Linden, vd – From the tree
- Meijer, Meyer – Bailiff or steward
- Meer, vd – From the lake
- Mesman – Knife
- Mulder, Molenaar – Miller
- Maarschalkerweerd – Keeper of marshlands
- Peters – Peter’s son
- Prins – Prince
- Rynsburger
- Smit, Smits – Smith
- Spaans – Spanish
- Spronk
- Visser – Fisher
- Vliet, van – From the water
- Vries, de – The Frisian
- Vos – Fox
- Westhuizen, van der
- Wit, de – White or blond
Online Dutch lessons for kids: dinolingo.com
