Show ContentsVan Houten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Van Houten Ranking

In the United States, the name Van Houten is the 6,671st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in Netherlands, the name Van Houten is ranked the 328th most popular surname with an estimated 4,654 people with that name. 2


United States Van Houten migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Van Houten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Helmigh Roelofs VanHouten, who arrived in New Netherland(s) in 1620-1664 3
  • Roeloff Cornelissen VanHouten, who arrived in New York in 1638 3
Van Houten Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J H VanHouten, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3

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

  • Major General John G. Vanhouten, American Commander of the 8th Infantry Division (United States), (1954-1956)
  • Dr. Robert W. Van Houten (1905-1986), American academic, 4th President of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) from 1947 until 1970
  • Byron Collins Van Houten (1848-1904), American politician, Member of the Washington State Senate for the 3rd district (1891-1897)
  • Isaac B. Van Houten (1776-1850), American politician, U.S. Representative from New York (1833-1835)
  • Harm van Houten (1892-1952), Dutch politician
  • Frans van Houten (b. 1960), Dutch business manager, CEO of Royal Philips Electronics (known universally as Philips) from 1 April 2011 to 15 October 2022.
  • Cornelis Johannes van Houten (1920-2002), Dutch astronomer
  • Jelline Floriska van Houten (b. 1978), known Jelka van Houten, Dutch actress who won the John Kraaijkamp Musical Award twice
  • Coenraad Johannes van Houten (1801-1887), Dutch chemist and chocolate maker, known for the treatment of cocoa mass with alkaline salts to remove the bitter taste and make cocoa solids more water-soluble, now known as the "Dutch process chocolate"
  • Carice Anouk van Houten (b. 1976), Dutch actress and singer, best known for Suzy Q (1999) won her the Golden Calf for Best Acting in a Television Drama
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
  3. 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)


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