Dutch Surname Research · Netherlands Heritage
Dutch surname · meaning, origin and genealogy
A topographic surname from veld (open field, countryside, heath) combined with man (man, person) — denoting someone who lived or worked in open agricultural land outside a village or town. The Dutch landscape of the early modern period was divided between reclaimed polder land, heathland, and cultivated field strips, making veld-derived surnames among the most common in rural communities. Veldman is most characteristic of the eastern Netherlands, where open heathland predominated.
Concentrated in the eastern provinces of Overijssel, Gelderland, and Drenthe. Also present in Friesland. Less common in the urbanised western Netherlands.
Willem Veldman (1756–1812), Dutch painter active in Amsterdam and known for architectural interiors. Also: the Veldman farming families of the Twente region, well-documented in the 17th and 18th century estate records of Overijssel.
VELT-man
Veldman records in Overijssel and Gelderland are held at the Historisch Centrum Overijssel in Zwolle and the Gelderlands Archief in Arnhem. The Drents Archief in Assen covers Drenthe records. The CBG (Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie) holds a consolidated surname frequency database.
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