Surname van der Laack - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'V'
van der Laack: What does the surname van der Laack mean?
The last name van der Laack is a Dutch or German toponymic surname, derived from the place name “laak”. Laak, also spelled lak, is an old Dutch term for a coastal inlet, such as a tidal flat, a small bay, or a small lake surrounded by marsh. Dutch and German settlers in the Netherlands and Germany likely adopted the surname to refer to their ancestral homes near a lesser body of water.
The van der Laack surname could alternatively derive from the Old Dutch “lak” meaning “lake”. This is further derived from the Proto-Germanic word “lakō” which described a body of standing water and may have replaced the previous term “inlaag” to refer to large bodies of water. This would coincide with the 17th and 18th century Dutch habit of using family names seemed to be based on the physical description of the places they lived and used the same type of modifications.
The van der Laack name may also have originated from families that resided in a certain lake area and referred to themselves by the name. This practice was common at the time and is evidenced by numerous records of individuals with surnames such as Van Damme (“from the dam”) or Van Meer (“from the lake”). To this day, many Dutch families still bear toponymic surnames, indicating the strong connection to local coasts and lakes the Dutch have maintained throughout time.
Order DNA origin analysisvan der Laack: Where does the name van der Laack come from?
The surname van Der Laack is commonly found in the Netherlands, especially in the northern part of the country, as well as in Belgium. It is an occupational surname, deriving from ‘De Laak’, which means ‘of the pond’ in Dutch. This likely refers to people who were employed near a body of water such as a lake or a river. The name has also been anglicized to Vanderlack or VanDerlack.
The Dutch van der Laacks can trace their name back to 13th century of Overijssel, which is a province in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The name began as a patronym (a type of surname made up of a person’s father’s name) and underwent a variety of spellings until it settled on the current spelling in the 17th or 18th century.
Today, the van der Laack surname is found throughout the Netherlands, as well as in parts of Belgium. It is especially common in Zeeland, a province located in the southwestern part of the Netherlands. It is also found in small numbers in Germany, France, Norway, England, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
The name van der Laack is certainly an old one, and its history reflects the social and geographic mobility of many Europeans throughout the centuries.
Variations of the surname van der Laack
Van der Laack is a Dutch surname that originates from the Dutch region of Laak, located in the province of Noord-Brabant. The surname can be spelled in several different variants. Some of these variants include Van Der Laak, Van der Laecke, Vanderlack, Vanderlak, Vanderlaak, Van der Lecke, Van der Laecke, and Vander Laak. The name may also centuries has changed or been modified to include other spellings of the surname, such as Van Der Lacy or Vonder Lecke.
In other countries, this Dutch surname may have been adapted to fit local customs and regional dialects. English variants of the name, for example, include Vander Lack, Vanderlacy, Van Der Lack, Van Der Lecke, Van Der Laack, and Vander Lack. Other countries where variants of the surname may have been adapted include Belgium, Germany, France, and South Africa.
In some cases, the surname may have been modified through mishearing or misinterpretation, leading to the development of many additional spellings. Examples of these modified spellings include Vandaelaecke, Van Dalecke, Vandlek, Vinkelack, and Venkelak.
Overall, van der Laack is a Dutch surname with a range of possible spellings and surnames of similar origin. Depending on the region or country, the surname may have been adapted over the years to fit local customs and dialects. Therefore, people researching their genealogy may face the challenge of finding all of the potential variants for the name.
Famous people with the name van der Laack
- Theodorus Wilhelmus van der Laack (1839-1918), Dutch rheumathologist
- Isabel van der Laack (1908-1994), Dutch concert pianist
- Harco Willem van der Laack (1867-1941), Dutch painter
- Maria van der Laack (1925-2015), Dutch poet and translator
- Pieter van der Laack (1793-1861), Dutch landscape painter
- Walther Arnold van der Laack (1902-1989), German physicist
- Sebastianus van der Laack (1802-1863), Dutch painter
- Hendrik Octaaf van der Laack (1874-1934), Dutch engineer and architect
- Liane van der Laack (born 1943), German poet 10. Willem Cornelis van der Laack (1739-1804), Dutch painter