Verstraete name origins

ERSTRAETE

By Christine A. Verstraete

By the Middle Ages, progress and population growth soon made the use of surnames necessary forms of identification. In many European countries, including Belgium and Holland, surnames were developed using patronymics, a practice where the son was named for the father. Thus, surnames like Robertson or Richardson would literally mean: "the son of Robert" or "the son of Richard."

Other surnames were derived from geographic locations, occupations, or were based on a person's characteristics.

The name VERSTRAETE is said to come from a small community called the Estree-Blanche in the Pas de Calais Province in a formerly Flemish portion of northern France.

The beginning of the name Ver-- is a shortened form of the Flemish/Dutch words Van der, meaning "from the..."

The end of the name --straet comes from the Old Dutch, straat which can mean:

Street - from the Latin word strata;

Or Strait - from the Old French word Estreit or e'troit.

The origin of the name VANDERSTRAETEN (and variations) could be from: -strata; or -stratin, patronymical from the Old Germanic first name Strato.

While I haven't yet traced my VERSTRAETE line earlier than the mid 1600s, Bruges resident Luc Verstraete traces the surname back to a Loonis VAN DER STRAETEN, from around 1550.

In keeping with the above explanations, the name would translate to mean, Loonis, who comes from the Strata (street) or Vanderstraeten. Hopefully, the phrase didn't have similar negative connotations then as it would have today.

The name was abbreviated in the 17th century to VERSTRAETE. While our family pronunciation emphasizes the first syllable, the Flemish pronunciation is "Vare - (long a, rhymes with fair) ( - strat, short a)."

In Belgium, the name is still very common, somewhat like Smith would be in the US. Interestingly enough, some forms of VERSTRAETE end with an "N" but are considered interchangeable.

Sources: L. Matthijs, Brussels; L. Verstraete, Bruges

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