Surname Ten Broeck - Meaning and Origin

Ten Broeck: What does the surname Ten Broeck mean?

Ten Broeck is a Dutch surname that originated from the Netherlands. The name is topographical in nature and commonly referred to individuals who lived or worked near a marsh or moor. "Ten" is a prepositional element in Dutch meaning "at" or "in", while "Broeck" translates to "marsh" or "moor." Therefore, the name Ten Broeck essentially means "at the marsh" or "in the marsh." As families moved over time and were identified by the nature of the place they lived in, such surnames became hereditary. However, the meaning of the surname does not indicate anything about the nature or character of those bearing it in the present day. This Dutch name is found mostly among people of Dutch descent residing in the Netherlands and the United States.

Ten Broeck: Where does the name Ten Broeck come from?

The Ten Broeck surname is most commonly found in Dutch-speaking and Low German-speaking regions of Europe. There are smaller pockets of people who bear the surname scattered across the world as well.

In the Netherlands, the surname is concentrated in the northern, northwestern and western provinces of Friesland, Ovelrien, Groningen, Drente, Utrecht, Noord-Holland, and Zuid-Holland.

In Germany, the surname is especially common in states that border the Netherlands such as Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is also found in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The name is also carried by some families in areas that were or still are majority Dutch-speaking, such as Belgium, Luxemburg, Indonesia and Suriname.

In the United States, Ten Broeck is concentrated in the greater New York City area, with sizable numbers in the Albany, NY; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Columbus, OH; and Grand Rapids, MI areas. The surname is most common among Dutch-Americans.

While the surname is fading in popularity in Europe due to emigration, its reach around the world has grown slowly over the years. The Ten Broeck surname is found in every modern continent except Antarctica.

Variations of the surname Ten Broeck

The surname Ten Broeck can be found throughout the world and can have many variants, spellings, and derivatives. In the United States, it is often spelled Van Broeck. Common alternative spellings are TenBroeck, Van Bruck, Ten Bruck, VanBruck, and TenBruck. VanBroeck is the most popular form of the surname in the Netherlands. The more rare spellings, Van Broek, Van Broecken, Van Brouck, and Vane Brueke are also found occasionally.

In some instances, the given name “Ten” (pronounced “tain”) may be dropped or modified to become the more common “Van.” In other cases, the prefix “Van” has been expanded to become “Von,” as in Von Broeck. There are also some instances of Descan/Descant, a variant of Tyson as a derivation of Ten Broeck.

The surname is also commonly found in Belgium and Germany in the forms Vane Brueck, Van Brugge, Van brueggen, VanBruggen, Van Buecken, Van der Brugge, Vander Bruggen, and Von Bruggen, among others. In England it can be found as Tenbricke and Vanbruggen.

Ten Broeck is usually found among individuals of Dutch heritage, though there are cases where the surname can be found in the NFNA and Moorish-Arab families. It can also be helpful to research the surname for possible connections to Jewish or French ancestry.

Finally, other forms of the name include Tenbruek, Tenbrueke, Ten Brucken, TenBrucken, and Tanbruck.

Famous people with the name Ten Broeck

• Abraham Ten Broeck (1734-1810): an American Revolutionary War General who served in the Continental Congress from 1785–1786.
• Rensselaer Ten Broeck (1773-1848): an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Albany, New York.
• Egbert Ten Broeck (1793-1873): an American lawyer, politician, and leading figure in the Whig Party.
• John Filkin Ten Broeck (1806–1868): an American lawyer and politician who was the first Supreme Court justice of the Wisconsin Territory.
• Bela N. Ten Broeck (1810–1900): an American lawyer and politician who served as the Public Printer of the United States from 1845–1850.
• Cornelius Ten Broeck (1802–1868): an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Alabama.
• Samuel Ten Broeck (1785-1867): an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the New York State Assembly and held several other offices in upstate New York.
• Theodore Ten Broeck (1813--1899): a prominent New York City obstetrician who was a pioneer in the field.
• John P. TenBroeck (1790–1875): an American lawyer and politician who was a Representative at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-31.
• Hermon Ten Broeck (1785-1848): an American Indian leader and warrior who fought in the War of 1812.

Other surnames

ten Brocketen Broek