help with Dutch names

Hey!
I was looking through my family tree and had some questions about names coming from my Dutch ancestors. Does anyone here know the pronunciations and English variations are these names:

Trientje’
Jantje’
[name]Grietje[/name]’
Ekke
[name]Klaas[/name]

Another name I found is Anaganita. Is these Dutch too?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

I can help you in the morning, so come back and look later! My [name]Oma[/name] is actually [name]Grietje[/name] and will be our future daughters middle name :wink: It’s very hard to get the actual proper sounds across in typing for many Dutch names, but I’ll give you what I can :slight_smile:

Trientje’ = [name]Katrina[/name], [name]Katherine[/name]
Jantje’ = [name]Jane[/name]
[name]Grietje[/name]’ = [name]Margaret[/name] (or, as [name]Susan[/name] said, [name]Gretchen[/name])
Ekke = ”gir, Old Norse name of a sea god, meaning “sea.”
[name]Klaas[/name] = [name]Nicholas[/name] (or, as [name]Susan[/name] said, [name]Claus[/name])

The “tje” diminutive suffix is pronounced t’yah. J is pronounced as Y.

Perhaps [name]Tiffy[/name] can give more detailed pronunciation instructions when she returns.

– [name]Nephele[/name]

ok, sorry I was so tired last night but just wanted you to know I would be back :slight_smile:

Trientje - Treen-tcha… but the T has a bit of a J sound in it, like I said, it’s not easy to get exact through type. The meaning of this name is blessed, pure. I’m not sure the exact American translation, but I assume it could be [name]Katarina[/name].

Jantje - [name]Yon[/name]-tcha - [name]Johnnie[/name]. Boy or Girl name.

[name]Grietje[/name] - Hreet-cha… BUT the there is a bit of a G sound in the H…

Ekke - must be short for Ekkehart? I’m not familiar with this name so much. Could be from the [name]German[/name] Ekkehardt?

[name]Klaas[/name] - Cl-ah-ss. Comes from [name]Nicolaas[/name].

Another name I found is Anaganita. Is these Dutch too? - Never heard of it…

[name]Ah[/name], I see I got that “tje” pronunciation slightly off. Thanks for the clarification, [name]Tiffy[/name].

But… I was under the impression that “tje” is a feminine ending. So… Jantje can’t be a boy’s name – can it? Or, am I wrong here?

– [name]Nephele[/name]

[name]Nephele[/name]… the “je” is like the “ie” . It is not just for girls. :slight_smile:

Also, Jaantje would be a girls name. Jantje would be a boys. That would be like [name]Janie[/name] and [name]Johnnie[/name].

Also, Jaantje would be a girls name. Jantje would be a boys. That would be like [name]Janie[/name] and [name]Johnnie[/name].[/quote]

[name]Ah[/name], I see. Thanks, [name]Tiffy[/name]!

– [name]Nephele[/name]

Here’s one from my family tree:
Sunnetje (f)
What is the anglicized equivalent?

I’m not familiar with what Sunnetje means… sorry!

Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to look into those. I would have never guessed that Trientje was [name]Katarina[/name] and [name]Grietje[/name] was [name]Margaret[/name] lol! I was kinda close on the pronunciations…but I’ve learned a lot! I’ll have to jot this down on the family tree so I don’t forget! Much appreciated.

[name]Grietje[/name] is [name]Gretel[/name], not [name]Margaret[/name]. BUT [name]Margaret[/name] and [name]Gretel[/name] could very well mean the same thing! :slight_smile: The Dutch version of [name]Hansel[/name] and [name]Gretel[/name] IS [name]Hans[/name] en [name]Grietje[/name].

ahhh and yes, [name]Gretel[/name] is a variant form or [name]Margaret[/name]! [name]Both[/name] mean [name]Pearl[/name].

oooh ok! thanks!

From what I’ve found the name Ekke is a variation of the Friesian name Eke, meaning sword.
Sunnetje is nowadays sometimes used as a way of referring to the sun, so it could mean little sun.
I would also say the pronounciation of -tje is closer to tyah than to tchah - there’s no real s in there.

All of these names are considered very old-fashioned in the Netherlands, though (especially the girls’ names are true ‘grandma names’ ;)), with only [name]Klaas[/name] making a comeback at the moment. Girls’ names ending in -tje are pretty much only used in the rural areas of the Netherlands. Here’s an overview of the number of times the name were given to newborn Dutch babies in 2008:

Trientje 1
Jantje 18
[name]Grietje[/name] 24
Ekke 0
[name]Klaas[/name] 72

For comparison, the no. 1 boys’ name [name]Daan[/name] was given 911 times, and the no. 1 girls’ name [name]Sophie[/name] 810 times.

alleyezonme and others…

I just discovered the great forvo.com! It may be very helpful to some of you looking for foreign name pronunciations.

Here is one for [name]Grietje[/name]

and I found one for MY middle name