Surname Wagenaar - Meaning and Origin
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Wagenaar: What does the surname Wagenaar mean?
The last name Wagenaar is of Dutch origin. It is a patronymic name that derives from the Dutch word ‘wagen’, meaning ‘wagon’ or ‘wagoner’ and is believed to have referred to someone who worked as a wagoner or driver in the Middle Ages. A similar name, Wagenmaker, also exists in Dutch and means ‘wagon maker’.
The name has been found in Dutch records as early as the 17th century and the earliest known Wagenaar was Willem Willemsz van Wagenaer, who was born in 1527. Other variations of the surname, such as Wagener, Wagenmaker, Wagenmeester and Wagenvoort, can also be found in records throughout the Netherlands, Germany, and other parts of Europe.
Wagenaar is a popular surname and various branches of the family still survive to this day. It’s meaning of ‘wagon man’ or ‘wagon maker’ is a reminder of the more simple and rural ways of life that went before us.
Order DNA origin analysisWagenaar: Where does the name Wagenaar come from?
The last name Wagenaar is most commonly found in the Netherlands. The last name Wagenaar is a Dutch toponymic surname, meaning that it is derived from the name of a place or region. The Wagenaar name most likely originated in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands and was likely derived from "Wagenaa", a village about 7 kilometers from the city of Harlingen.
Today, Wagenaar is a quite popular last name in the Netherlands with over 16,000 people bearing the surname, making it the 142nd most common name in the country. In addition to the Netherlands, Wagenaar is an established surname in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census showed a total of 1,093 people bearing the Wagenaar surname, ranking it among the 10,000 most common surnames in the United States.
In addition to the Netherlands and North America, the last name Wagenaar is also fairly common in South Africa. According to the Global Family Tree Project in Geni, the Wagenaar name is present in South Africa as well, with more than 630 people bearing the last name on the continent. The same project also reported more than 400 Wagenaars present in Australia, as well as established family lines in France and Germany.
The last name Wagenaar is most commonly tied to the Netherlands, but has spread throughout the world and can now be found in numerous countries in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Africa.
Variations of the surname Wagenaar
The Wagenaar surname has many variants, spellings, and other surnames of the same origin.
Variants of the name Wagenaar include Waegenaer, Waegenaar, Wagenhaar, Wagenaer, Wagenhaer, and Wagener. All of these spellings are variant spellings of the Dutch former occupational surname Wagenaar, which means "wagoner" or "cart driver."
Surnames of related origin to Wagenaar include Wagenmaker, Wagemaker, Waghemaker, and Waignmmaker, which all mean either "wagon maker" or "wagon builder." Additionally, Wagner, Wagenmann and Wagnman are all derived from German names meaning the same thing.
The Potgieter surname is itself derived from the Dutch name Potgieter, which denotes an "artisan who constructs large earthenware pots, in particular for breweries." The surname is of the same origin as the Dutch former occupational name Potgieter, yet, the two are not the same.
Finally, the Boelen and Boelens surname is derived from the Dutch name Boelen, "which denotes a person from the area Bellen in Flanders." Both surnames are distinct from Wagenaar in that their origin is more geographically based than occupational.
All in all, Wagenaar is a common surname of Dutch origin that has many variants, spellings, and related surnames of the same origin.
Famous people with the name Wagenaar
- Gerrit Wagenaar: Dutch space scientist
- Johan Wagenaar: Dutch composer and conductor
- Christoffer Wagenaar: Dutch football player
- Colinda Wagenaar: Dutch model
- Charles Wagenaar: American sculptor
- Aart Wagenaar: Dutch ice hockey player
- Harry Wagenaar: Dutch composer
- Camillus Antonius Wagenaar: Dutch Judge
- Davy Wagenaar: Dutch football player
- Carroll Wagenaar: American cell biologist
- Frans Wagenaar: Dutch politician
- Petske Wagenaar: Dutch basketball player
- Onno Wagenaar: Dutch musician
- Willem Wagenaar: Dutch sculptor
- Robert Wagenaar: American photographer
- Arie Wagenaar: Dutch photographer
- Jan Wagenaar: Dutch historian
- Alex Wagenaar: Dutch journalist