Van Zandt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the ancestors of the Van Zandt surname. Van Zandt was a local name, a type of hereditary surname that identified people by the places where they lived. Landowners were the first to use local names, and they often attached the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from," to the surname. Often, the use of "von" was a mark of aristocratic birth. Local names are by far the most common style of German hereditary surname. Van Zandt was a name for someone who lived beside a rocky cliff. Van Zandt is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties

Early Origins of the Van Zandt family

The surname Van Zandt was first found in the Palatinate region of the Rhineland, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the region, eventually moving north with the Palatinate counts to Duesseldorf in the duchy of Berg. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation.

Early History of the Van Zandt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Van Zandt research. Another 245 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1253, 1778, 1823, 1825, 1827, 1829 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Van Zandt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Van Zandt Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Van Zandt include Zandt, Zand, Zant and others.

Early Notables of the Van Zandt family

Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Van Zandt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Van Zandt Ranking

In the United States, the name Van Zandt is the 9,615^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Van Zandt migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Van Zandt, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Van Zandt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Adam Wenzel VanZandt, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1620-1664 2
Genet Stoffelse VanZandt, who arrived in New York in 1651 2
Johannes VanZandt, who arrived in New Jersey in 1660 2

Van Zandt Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Isaac VanZandt, aged 24, who landed in New York in 1719 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Van Zandt (post 1700) +

Steve Van Zandt (b. 1950), American actor, songwriter, record producer and guitarist
Maureen Van Zandt, American actress (The Sopranos)
Philip Van Zandt (1904-1958), Holland-born American actor in film, drama and comedy, known for his portrayal of Rawlston in Citizen Kane
John Van Zandt (d. 1847), American Underground Railroad hero
Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997), American singer and songwriter from Texas
Isaac Van Zandt (1813-1847), American political leader in the Republic of Texas
Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997), Texas-based folk singer/songwriter

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)