Venter or Venters is an Afrikaans (and rarely, Jewish) surname, and may refer to:
The commonly accepted origin of the surname finds its roots in the Netherlands, however due to poor record-keeping there are doubts whether or not this is true. During the Church Reformation, the persecuted were known to board ships bound for far-off lands (South Africa being one with its recent establishment as a trading post for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and their representative Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. During these escapes names were often changed, thus muddying the water.
One disputing theory is that Venter does not derive from the Dutch "Van Deventer" , but rather from the French "Fender" as Huguenots sought refuge in the new settlement in the mid- to late 17th century.
There are still many missing links in the genealogy of the Venter family.
Mulder is a surname of two possible origins: Dutch and German.
Jonker is a Dutch surname. It is also a variation of the title jonkheer. The name can be occupational of origin, indicating an ancestor who was or worked for a jonkheer, or toponymical, e.g. referring to a house named De Jonker. People with the surname include:
Coetzee is an Afrikaans surname. It is the tenth most common family name in the Republic of South Africa.
Swart is an Afrikaans, Dutch and German surname meaning "black". Variations on it are de Swart, Swarte, de Swarte, Swarts, Zwart, de Zwart, and Zwarts. People with this surname include:
Jansen is a Dutch/Flemish and Low German patronymic surname meaning son of Jan, a common derivative of Johannes. It is equivalent to the English surname Johnson. The near homonyms "Jensen" and "Jansson" are its Danish, Norwegian and Swedish counterparts.
Koster is the Dutch word for sexton or verger, derived from the Latin custos.
Visser is a Dutch occupational surname, meaning "fisherman". In 2007, nearly 50,000 people in the Netherlands carried the name, making it the eighth most populous name in the country. Common variant forms of the name are De Visser, Visscher, and Vissers.
Van Zyl is an Afrikaans toponymic surname. It derives from the Dutch surname Van Zijl, meaning "from Zijl" where Zijl is an archaic term for a waterway. Equivalent
Alberts is a Dutch and Afrikaans patronymic surname, meaning "son of Albert". Alberts is also a Latvian masculine given name, a cognate of the name Albert. People with the name Alberts include:
Smit is a Dutch occupational surname. It represents an archaic spelling of the Dutch word "smid" for "smith" and is the Dutch equivalent of the English surname Smith.
PlessisPlessy, and de Plessis are related surnames of French origin, may refer to:
Prinsloo is an Afrikaans surname. The name is derived from the Dutch word Prins, and a Loo suffix meaning clearing in a forest. Variant spellings include Prinzloo and Prinslo.
De Bruyn is a Dutch and Afrikaans surname. "Bruyn" or "bruijn" is an archaic spelling of "bruin", meaning "brown". People with the name include:
Kok is either a Dutch occupational surname, "kok" meaning "cook", or an alternate spelling for the common Chinese surname Guo. Kok is a quite common surname in the Netherlands, ranking 27th in 2007. Notable people with the surname Kok include:
Van der Walt is an Afrikaans surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Van Rooyen or Van Rooijen is an Afrikaans and Dutch toponymic surname. "Rooij" or "Roij" was a local term for many towns ending with "rode" or "roij", like Nistelrode, Sint-Oedenrode, Stramproy and Wanroij. This suffix itself means "a clearing made by men". Notable people with the surname include:
Brand is a surname. It usually is a patronymic from the Germanic personal name Brando (="sword") or a short form of a compound personal name like Hildebrand. The surname originated separately in England, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and North Germany. Also many Scandinavian Brands immigrated across Scandinavia and Europe. Notable people with the surname include:
Pieterse is a Dutch and Afrikaans patronymic surname. The surname was first used in Netherlands before the colonial era. After the Dutch established a colony in the Cape of Good Hope, people with the surname Pieterse moved to the colony and as a consequence, Pieterse is a common Afrikaans surname.
Nel is both a South African (Afrikaans) surname and a Dutch feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
Bosch is a popular surname in Catalan and Dutch. In both languages it is an archaic spelling of a word meaning "forest".