Cape Malay / Cape Coloured
A surname common in the Cape Coloured and Cape Malay communities — descended from Dutch patronymics and carried by the diverse Cape communities whose history reflects four centuries of mixed South African heritage..
| Surname | Hendricks |
| Origin | Cape Malay / Cape Coloured |
| Meaning | Patronymic from the given name Hendrik — the Dutch form of Henry, from Germanic Heimrich (home ruler) |
| Common regions | Western Cape (Cape Town, Bokaap, Stellenbosch), Northern Cape, Gauteng |
Hendricks is a patronymic surname derived from Hendrik — the Dutch and German form of Henry, ultimately from the Germanic Heimrich (home ruler, estate ruler). As a surname, it originated as "son of Hendrik" and became hereditary in communities across the Dutch colonial world, including the Cape Colony.
In South Africa, Hendricks is particularly associated with the Cape Coloured and Cape Malay communities — the diverse mixed-heritage communities of the Western Cape whose ancestors included VOC-period enslaved people from West Africa, Madagascar, India, and Southeast Asia; indigenous Khoikhoi and San peoples; Dutch, German, and French settlers; and freed slaves who converted to Islam and became the community known as the Cape Malays.
The Cape Coloured community developed a distinctive culture at the Cape through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including Afrikaans as a home language (the Cape Coloured community played a central role in the development of Afrikaans as a spoken language), Cape Malay cuisine, and a blend of Christian and Islamic religious practice. Dutch surnames — including patronymics like Hendricks, Davids, Jacobs, and Adams — were common because enslaved and freed people often took their owner's or their father's Dutch given name as a surname upon emancipation.
The name is also found in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, reflecting the broader spread of Cape communities through South Africa. In the post-apartheid period, Hendricks has become associated with the People's Alliance and political figures including Moulana Mohumed Hendricks, leader of the Al Jama-ah political party.
Love South Africa is a weekly newsletter covering the landscapes, history, wine, wildlife, and people of South Africa — for those who love the country from wherever they are. 5,600+ readers worldwide.
Love South Africa — Free →Cape Coloured and Cape Malay genealogical research is complex and richly rewarding. The Slave Lodge in Cape Town holds information about the enslaved people of the Cape Colony. The Cape Archives Repository holds Transferring of Slaves records, manumission documents, and baptism records. The Dutch Reformed Church Moedergemeente records (Cape Town) date from 1665. The Genealogical Society of South Africa has specific resources for Cape Coloured and Cape Malay family research.