De Jong

The origin of the surname De Jong

De Jong, the most common Dutch surname, means “the young (one).”

What kind of surname is De Jong?

As a descriptive surname (or nickname name), the surname De Jong arose from a personal characteristic — a physical trait, a quality of temperament, or a distinguishing feature of its first bearer. Communities have always coined nicknames, and in the age before fixed surnames these vivid, affectionate or teasing labels — referring to hair colour, stature, complexion or character — frequently became hereditary. Descriptive surnames give an unusually human glimpse of an ancestor, hinting at how they looked or how they were regarded by the people around them.

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.