Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.22210/suvlin.2022.094.03
A Contribution to the Study of Dutch Surnames on the Example of Surnames Motivated by the Appellative GRAAF
Željana Pancirov Cornelisse
orcid.org/0000-0001-9957-3869
; Zagreb
Maarten Rombouts
orcid.org/0000-0002-7055-4127
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb
Abstract
This paper deals with the analysis of surnames motivated by the appellative graaf (i.e. count). Such
surnames are derived from nobility titles in the Netherlands and Flanders and are the most common Dutch
surnames. The case study is preceded by a brief overview of the historical, sociocultural and orthographic
context within the Dutch language area to explain why Dutch surnames motivated by the same appellative
are spelled differently in the Netherlands and Flanders.
The first part of the article gives a review of the position of onomastics in Dutch Studies, the historical
overview of Dutch surnames from the Netherlands and Flanders, with special emphasis on the changes
before and after the introduction of the official spelling system of the Dutch language in 1804, and also on
motivational classification of Dutch surnames.
For the purposes of this case study, we first performed a quantitative analysis. We compiled a list to see
how many holders of surnames motivated by the appellative graaf there are. We then divided the list into
categories according to variations in the surnames. For the number of surnames in Flanders, we used the
statistics from Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, and for the surnames in the Netherlands, the statistics
from the database of the onomastic network Netwerk Naamkunde. The next step in the study was to search
for the various forms of surnames containing the appellative graaf. The results of the search are shown in the
pertaining table. A review of the lists reveals three variants in the forms of surnames (in terms of spelling,
morphosyntax and phonology). These are analysed further in the text. Two online databases were used
to determine the prevalence of the variants: FamilienamenBank for the Netherlands and Familienaam for
Belgium. We then outlined the distribution of the most common variants of the surname graaf on the maps
of the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Netherlands, the surname De Graaf has the highest concentration
in the historic county of Holland, and in Belgium (Flanders), in the area bordering the Netherlands. Also,
the distribution of the surnames Degraeve, De Graeve and Degrave (in Belgium) is shown. The results
indicate somewhat limited mobility and decentralization. In the final part of the analysis, we looked at the origin of the surname graaf with respect to the motivational classification of Dutch surnames (see Brower
2000c), which divided the surnames into four categories: those derived from personal names, one’s origins,
those motivated by occupation and those derived from nicknames. Almost all of the four categories occur in
various spelling variants of surnames with the appellative graaf.
The contribution of this paper is that surnames motivated by the appellative graaf are analyzed for
the first time. Additionally, this is the first anthroponomastic article in Croatian on surnames from the
Dutch language area. It will also enable Croatian anthroponomastics to get acquainted with the Dutch
anthroponomasticon in detail.
Keywords
surnames; anthroponomastics; the appellative graaf; Dutch language; the Netherlands; Flanders
Hrčak ID:
289480
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2022.
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