De Boer

The origin of the surname De Boer

De Boer means “the farmer.”

What kind of surname is De Boer?

As an occupational surname, the surname De Boer began as a description of the bearer's job, trade or office — one of the oldest and richest sources of family names. In the medieval world, a person was naturally identified by what they did, so the baker, the smith, the miller and the weaver each lent their trade to a name that later became hereditary. These surnames are wonderfully transparent windows onto everyday life in earlier centuries, preserving crafts and roles that in many cases no longer exist. Because certain trades were common everywhere, occupational surnames are among the most widespread family names in many countries.

How Dutch surnames work

Dutch surnames frequently include a tussenvoegsel — a small connecting particle such as “van” (“of/from”), “de” (“the”) or “van der” (“of the”) — which points to a place of origin or a descriptive term, as in Van Dijk (“of the dike”) and De Jong (“the young”). Others are patronymic, often ending in “-sen” or “-s” (Jansen, “John's son”), or occupational. Surnames were made compulsory in the Netherlands under Napoleon in 1811, which fixed many previously fluid names.