Weerdenburg

This Dutch surname, like so many from 'The Netherlands', is locational. Its original and most usual form is as Van Weerdenburg or occasionally Van Der Weerdenburg, with Weerdenburg being a later early Eighteenth Century style. The name describes a person who lives at a place called Weerdenburg or possibly Waardenburg in the province of Gelderland. This name is both a very early recording, see below, and it was discovered in a church register. Very few 14th century church registers from any European country have survived, most were destroyed in the various civil and religiously based wars of the 15th to the 18th century. In this case we know that the same Agnes Van Weerdenburg was married at Waardenburg in 1381, and that in 1394 Catharina Van Weerdenburg was married at the same church to Balthazar Van Buren. We believe that Catharina was the niece of Agnes. A later recording was that of Artien Van Weerdenburg at Kuilenburg, Gelderland, on January 8th 1680 in the reign of William 111 of Orange, the future king of England in 1689, whilst on December 3rd 1719 Arnoldus Weerdenburg was also christened at Kuilenburg. He was the son of Johannes Van Weerdenburg, and may have been the first not to bear the 'Van' preposition. The coat of arms is quarterly, silver and blue, charged with, in one and four, three bulbs proper, in two and three a saltire of headed corn, all gold, overall an inescutcheon in silver, charged with two hands conjoined fesswise, supporting a bulb proper. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agnes Van Weerdenburg, which was dated 1360, christened at Waardenburg, Gelderland, The Netherlands, during the reign of Margaret, Countess of Holland, 1347 - 1370. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.