Origin & History
A patronymic surname meaning 'son of Gerrit.' Gerrit is the Dutch form of Gerard, from Old Germanic Gerhard: ger (spear) + hard (brave/strong). Gerrit was extremely popular in the medieval Netherlands. The suffix -sen is the Dutch equivalent of the English -son, creating the patronymic form common to North Holland, Friesland, and the northern provinces.
Geographic Distribution
Common throughout the Netherlands, with particular prevalence in the northern provinces where the -sen patronymic form is traditional.
Notable Bearers
Barent Gerritsen (fl. 1597), a Dutch navigator and merchant who made early voyages to the East Indies in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) — representative of how the name appears in the archives of Dutch maritime expansion.
Pronunciation
Genealogy Research
Gerritsen families documented in VOC records (East India Company) are accessible through the Dutch National Archives in The Hague, which holds extensive 17th-18th century maritime and commercial records.
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