Vanderhorst History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
Germany

The name Vanderhorst comes from the German region of Westphalia. The tradition of adopting hereditary surnames came to Germany after the 12th century, and the names of places where people lived were a primary source. Many local names carry the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from". It originally indicated land ownership, and is sometimes a mark of nobility. The Vanderhorst family originally lived near or in a hurst, which is a wood or thicket. Thus, Vanderhorst 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.

Early Origins of the Vanderhorst family

The surname Vanderhorst was first found in Westphalia, where the name Horst contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. The name appears in chronicles of 1292, which place Berthold von der Horst, a knight, at the family seat in the county of Recklingshausen. They eventually formed three main lines of descent: the von der Horst zu Horst, von der Horst zum Hauss und zu Milsen, and von der Horst zu Mudlinghoven und Hellenbruch. The names of these lines come from the intermarriage with the Hauss family, or from the name of the estates in their possession.

Early History of the Vanderhorst family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Vanderhorst research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1664 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Vanderhorst History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vanderhorst Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Vanderhorst include Horst, Horste, Horsst, Horsste, Horest, Horeste, Horstt and many more.

Early Notables of the Vanderhorst family

More information is included under the topic Early Vanderhorst Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vanderhorst Ranking

In Netherlands, the name Vanderhorst is the 93^rd most popular surname with an estimated 10,642 people with that name. 1

Vanderhorst migration to the United States +

For many Germans, emigration to North America was an inviting alternative to the trials of life in the old country. From the mid-17th into the present century, thousands of Germans migrated across the Atlantic. They capitalized on the chance to escape poverty and persecution, and to own their own land. After 1650, Germans settled throughout the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also landed in Canada, settling in Ontario or father west on the rich land of the prairies. Among them:

Vanderhorst Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Vanderhorst, who settled in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1694

Vanderhorst Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Cooper Vanderhorst, who arrived in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1810
Hendrik VanderHorst, who arrived in New York, NY in 1854
Abraham Vanderhorst, who settled in 1854
Hendrik VanderHorst, aged 16, who landed in New York, NY in 1854 2
Sara VanderHorst, aged 42, who arrived in New York, NY in 1854 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Vanderhorst (post 1700) +

Arnoldus Vander Horst (1748-1815), American politician, Governor of South Carolina
Elias Vanderhorst, American politician, U.S. Consul in Bristol, 1792-1815 3

Citations +

"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html