Van Beek Explained

Van Beek is a toponymic surname of (southern) Dutch origin. Though translating as "of the stream", the absence of an article suggests that the original bearer originated from a town called Beek rather than lived near a stream. There are several towns which are or were named Beek in Gelderland, Limburg and North Brabant and also one in the municipality Bree in Belgium near the Dutch border.^[1] The name is quite common in the Netherlands, ranking 38th in 2007 (17,148 people).^[2] Related names include Beek, Van Beeck, Ter Beek, Van der Beek, and Verbeek. People with this surname include:

• Arie van Beek (b. 1951), Dutch conductor
• Bernard van Beek (1875–1941), Dutch landscape painter
• Gijs van Beek (born 1971), Dutch sport shooter
• Gys van Beek (1919–2015), Dutch resistance member and American inventor
• Harold van Beek (b. 1962), Dutch racewalker
• Jackie van Beek, New Zealand film director, writer and actress
• Jan van Beek (1880–1954), Dutch footballer
• Logan van Beek (b. 1990), New Zealand-born Dutch cricketer
• Lotte van Beek (b. 1991), Dutch speed skater
• Martin van Beek (b. 1960), Dutch politician
• Rinus van Beek (1947–2018), Dutch swimmer
• Rob Van Beek (b. 1983), Canadian lacrosse player
• Sven van Beek (b. 1994), Dutch footballer
• Svenja van Beek (b. 1987), Dutch pop singer
• Willibrord van Beek (b. 1949), Dutch politician

Bontjes van Beek

• Cato Bontjes van Beek (1920–1943), German resistance member

Van Beeck

• Franz Jozef van Beeck (1930–2011), Dutch Jesuit theologian

Von Beeck

• Peter von Beeck (died 1624), German (Aachen) historian

See also

• Beek (disambiguation)
• Van der Beek, Dutch surname

Notes and References

1. http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?gba_naam=van%20Beek&nfd_naam=Beek,%20van&info=aantal%20en%20verspreiding&operator=eq&taal=en Beek, van
2. Leender Brouwer, The top 100 surnames in the Netherlands