name them

I’m seeking names.  Male and female.  Something Dutch-Belgian in flavour.  Have any to share?

I’ve got a good germ of a story, but it is blocked by an utter dearth of names that suit anyone in it.  No one can grow without names.

10 thoughts on “name them

  1. meg says:

    My favorite babysitter when I was little was a neighbor who was 100% Dutch. Her name was Katinka. She had sisters Anouk and Florentine. And for male, I always liked Jan. But that also had something to do with a middle-school crush on a Dutch boy!

  2. JoVE says:

    Marieke? (that might be German though I’m sure there is a Dutch equivalent) Maartje?

    I had a dutch friend whose husband is Sjord (that might not be the correct spelling but it’s close) and son is Joris.

  3. Amy says:

    I love the name Anya. The Dutch version is with a /j/ as in Anja, I believe. It is pronounced On-ya and its English equivalent is Anne.

    I’ve also always loved Annika, too, although I believe this is more of a Swedish name.

  4. Maartje says:

    Dutch person, here through a nudge from JoVE!

    Many good suggestions already upthread, although unfortunately very few Dutch parents give their kids scandinavian names. Would be cool, since I agree they’re gorgeous.

    We have an entire institute devoted to name research, the Meertens Institute. Some links from their site, and some Belgian for comparison because they’re not that similar in name choice:

    Popular recent Dutch first names per half decade: http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/voornamen/modern.html

    Popular recent Belgian first names: http://statbel.fgov.be/nl/statistieken/cijfers/bevolking/andere/namen/voor/index.jsp

    Popular Dutch first names from 1870-1950 for your older generation (first table is ‘official’ baptismal names, second table is ‘calling names’ that were used in daily life – so ‘Nellie’ for ‘Cornelia’ and so on): http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/voornamen/populair.html

    Top 100 Dutch surnames (last 2 pages): ://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/documenten/top100.pdf
    Comparison of top 25 Dutch and Belgian last names: http://www.onzetaal.nl/kalender/records/r2211.php

    And, to top it off, many Dutch parents are looking to other cultures for their kids’ names. English names like John, Mike, Kevin are popular for boys, and Jennifer and Jessica and such for girls. Not to mention all the Morroccan or Turkish names, although they aren’t usually given to children from all-Dutch heritage.

    So, that’s probably a LOT more than you were looking for. Hope you find some great names!

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