Genealogy Forum UK

In 1795 The French invaded Holland and after Napoleon came to power in France, he placed his brother (Lodewijk) on the throne. Lodewijk often placed the interests of Holland before that of France, resulting in Napoleon removing him from the throne and incorporating the country into the French Empire. In 1811 Napoleon passed a law requiring all Dutchmen to take a surname, in order to complete a census for the purpose of collecting taxes. In the south and the west of the Netherlands it was already customary to have a surname but in Friesland,( the most northern province of the Netherlands) only 10 % of the people had a family name. To meet Napoleon's demand, a lot of people had to quickly invent a surname. Generally one was free in his choice and since many Dutch people thought this decree would only be temporary, many deliberately chose confusing or comical names.

Zijtregtop - sideways straight up
Naaktgeboren - born naked
Zeldenthuis - rarely (at) home
Paardebek - horses mouth
Zonderkop - without a head
Vroegindeweij - early in the field
Uyttewiliigen - out of the willows
Kaasenbrood - cheese and bread
Suikerbuik - sugar belly
Spring in t Veld - jump in the field
Gladpootjes -slippery paws
Vermist - lost

These names are still in exixtence today.So who's had the last laugh?

That is great Rob I never knew all that!

So wot is your family name or rather wot does it mean?

My wife's family name is Van Nieuwkoop which means of Nieuwkoop.
Nieuwkoop being a small village in the province of South Holland near to Utrecht.
That's where they (the Van Nieuwkoops) originated.
Incidently the Van Nieuwkoop's have been researched back to the 12th century and even have their own crest of arms.
Obviously the rule brought in by Napoleon didn't affect them as they were a family of some substance.