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Surname van de Laak - Meaning and Origin

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van de Laak: What does the surname van de Laak mean?

The last name van de Laak is typically associated with an area in the Netherlands known as the Land of Laak. It is an area near the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which is located in the southern Dutch province of North Brabant. The name van de Laak originates from the old Dutch words ‘Laak’ and ‘Leck’, which both refer to the many waterways that branch off in the area surrounding the city.

The name Laak could potentially also have been derived from the rivier ‘de Laak’, which passes by ‘s-Hertogenbosch and is one of the largest rivers of North Brabant. Historically, people in the area would often refer to themselves as ‘van de Laak’ rather than simply ‘van de’. This is because, to them, the designation of ‘Laak’ was more of a statement about their heritage, identity, and background than ‘van de’ alone.

While many of the people with the van de Laak surname live freely throughout Europe, there is still a culture of close family ties and communal belonging. The surname also often indicates pride in the family's roots and heritage, with many members taking time to travel back to ‘s-Hertogenbosch to experience the typical culture of their ancestors.

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van de Laak: Where does the name van de Laak come from?

Van de Laak is a relatively common Dutch surname with thousands of people in the Netherlands alone carrying the name. In the past, the name has been prevalent in the Southeast of the Netherlands, especially in the provinces of Gelderland and North Brabant. Today, it is still popular in those districts, and is becoming increasingly found in other regions of the Netherlands as well.

Van de Laak is also a common surname throughout the other Netherlands-related nations and regions such as Belgium, the Netherlands Antilles, Flanders, and Suriname. In Belgium it is particularly common in Flanders, with many bearers of the name living in the Belgian cities of Antwerp, Bruges, Leuven, and Ghent. The same can be said of other countries with Dutch emigrant populations, such as the United States, South Africa, Canada, and Australia.

Van de Laak derives its origin from the word ‘laak’, which was an old Dutch word for 'waterway' or 'creek'. Those bearing the name were likely to have been situated in proximity to a main waterway or creek, and as such, the name is likely to have been used to distinguish individuals nearby. The prefix ‘van de’ is widely used in Dutch surnames to signify a family’s place of origin, which in this case is a waterway.

Variations of the surname van de Laak

The surname van de Laak is a Dutch and Flemish toponymic surname. It comes from the Dutch word "laak" meaning "river", and is found in many different variants and spellings around the world.

The most common Dutch spelling is van de Laak, and some of the commonly found alternative spellings are Vandelaak, Van de Laak, Vandelaack, Van Der Laak, Vandelak, Van De Lecke and Vandelecke.

In English, the name has been altered to Vancelack, and in Spanish, the name is Vandelaco.

Some of the other surnames with a similar origin to van de Laak include Van Derlaken, van de Velde, Eekhout, Eekhoven, Eakins, and Laken.

In addition, variants of the same name are found in other European countries such as Ireland, where we find the surnames O'Loughlin and Loughlan, and Germany, where the spelling has been altered to Lohnen.

Overall, the surname van de Laak can be found in many forms around the world, and is of Dutch and Flemish roots. It is also thought to have some influence from Irish and Germanic languages too.

Famous people with the name van de Laak

  • Wilbert van de Laak- Dutch architect
  • Mario van de Laak:Dutch basketball player
  • Pieter van de Laak- Dutch footballer
  • Annemiek van de Laak:Dutch volleyball player
  • Michael van de Laak:German basketball coach
  • Marc van de Laak:Dutch footballer
  • Mike van de Laak:Dutch kickboxer
  • Pim van de Laak:Dutch footballer
  • Arjen van de Laak:Dutch Paralympian
  • Frank van de Laak:Dutch politician
  • Jef van de Laak:Dutch bicycle racer
  • Bart van de Laak:Dutch footballer
  • Willy van de Laak:Dutch professor of sociology
  • Carl van de Laak:American illustrator and writer
  • Kees van de Laak:Dutch landscape architect
  • Cindy van de Laak:Dutch field hockey player
  • Mark van de Laak:Dutch judoka
  • Stanislav van de Laak:Russian snowboarder
  • Dominik van de Laak:German footballer
  • Rachel van de Laak:Australian singer-songwriter

Other surnames

van de Laarvan de Linde

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