The Dutch were much slower than the English in adopting surnames as we know them. Patronymics in New Netherland (present day New York) ended theoretically under English rule in 1687 with the advent of surnames, but not everyone followed the new guidelines.
The most common Dutch naming custom was that of patronymics, or identification of an individual based on the father's name. For example Jan Albertszen (who later took the surname Bradt) is given the patronymic of Albertszen, after…
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