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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Any especially fab or perhaps unusual Dutch or Flemish boys names

32 replies

user1485182339 · 26/12/2017 20:35

Which might work well in the UK too? Feel free to throw in some girls' names, but mainly looking for boys' or gender neutral as our girls' list is reasonably populated already.
I guess there are mostly English equivalents, but I'd like to take stock of the Dutch/Flemish versions as my mind is pretty darn blank these days. Hmm TIA.

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StandardRussian66 · 06/01/2018 20:28

I really love Kees (pronounced case)

babyturtles · 06/01/2018 20:22

I love Pepijn.

DamnCommandments · 06/01/2018 20:11

Ernst
Willem
Daan

QuiltingFlower · 06/01/2018 20:01

Nils

Pixel99 · 05/01/2018 20:16

I knew a Dutch Saskia

Original poster
user1485182339 · 05/01/2018 15:20

Jort would be a disaster! Grin I'm glad you married him.
Pipijn is a nice suggestion, but I keep thinking about a book a read as a child. No idea what anymore?
I've looked through all those online lists and I'm still stumped.

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Abzs · 01/01/2018 17:03

Local to us I know boys/men called
Jann
Thilo
Torbjorn
Mårten
Dirk
(None are Dutch, they are all German or Scandinavian).

For all of them, I heard the name before I ever saw it written, therefore I think I hadn't anglicised the pronunciation in my head. I could imagine problems at school, where staff would see the name written first.

HellToupee · 01/01/2018 16:59

Pepijn
Xander
Bram
Robbert
Guus
Bas
Erik
Gertwin
Jurre
Mees
Arno
Erwin
Ewout
Daan
Matthias
Johan

Justkeepleft · 01/01/2018 16:44

Oh and how could I for get Torsten( third hammer). Not completely dutch but but very cool.
It is so hard to find a name that works both ways. DH is a Jort. Very popular now but growing up not. Living overseas no one could say it, even me the first time I heard it.
I like Dirk.

GemmaB78 · 01/01/2018 15:39

Urgh not Hendrik. We have a Henrik, and he gets called Hendrik all the time and it drives me nuts!

FoggieFishieCarpeDiem · 01/01/2018 15:34

I wouldn’t go with Diekie. But I’m the user that started the Dickie thread so it’s possible that I’m currently a bit oversensitive in regards to that...

Dirk is nice :)! But it may have some violent connotations to English speakers? (a bit like like Colt, Gunner, Beretta etc)

FoggieFishieCarpeDiem · 01/01/2018 15:24

You might find an especially fab name on here:

www.behindthename.com/names/usage/dutch

(I personally like Otto, Anneliese, Catharina, Henrik, Vincent, Niels, Lars, Cecilia, Clemens, Claudia, Edwin, Leo(n) and Lennart.)

Original poster
user1485182339 · 01/01/2018 14:55

Espen is good. More Scandinavian? I don't think I've met any?

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Original poster
user1485182339 · 01/01/2018 14:54

Based on one of the other threads on here, would you consider it foolish to choose Diek (or Diekie?) Or would you choose Dirk instead, and nn it to Diek? I don't like Dirk or Dirkie, but do like Diek/Diekie. Is it inevitable that it would become a rude name in the UK?

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DumbledoresApprentice · 28/12/2017 19:40

Fidelis is lovely.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 28/12/2017 19:38

Espen is lovely.

gingerclementine · 28/12/2017 19:35

Alfons is great.

gingerclementine · 28/12/2017 19:34

Fidelis - (Fi-DAY-liss) I just love that name but you'd need a Dutch connection to get away with it.

Otto
Hendrik

Original poster
user1485182339 · 28/12/2017 19:05

Glenn. Grin
Yes rivier, I do. I'm less worried about the ij vowel sound than about the hard T, maybe because if combined with an H at the start it will always be 'th' rather than 't', and the start of a name somehow seems important to me.
I like the Seppe and Jasper suggestions.
There are a lot of single syllable names yes, but with my surname a two or three syllable name will sound a lot better.

OP posts:
Kpo58 · 27/12/2017 23:22

Wim

MotherOfDragons22 · 27/12/2017 22:54

My Belgian flemish speaking DP is called Glenn.

Justkeepleft · 27/12/2017 22:41

I have a Jasper. He has always been called by the Dutch the pronunciation ( which I loved before I had met Dutch DH anyway). We chose it because it worked in English too.
So may names of the class mates have English equivilentsnor wouldn't work in English very well.

Zhx3 · 27/12/2017 22:32

I know an Alfons, Ben, Sander and Pepijn.

rivierliedje · 27/12/2017 22:28

Do you speak Dutch? Thijs not only has a hard t, but also has vowel sound that doesn't exist in English.
I agree that most people will assume a name starting with J will be pronounced like Janet and not like yellow.
You'll probably get closest with one of the short Flemish boys names like Sep, Seppe, Cas, Bas.

Original poster
user1485182339 · 27/12/2017 19:14

Oh thanks rivier that will be quite helpful. Smile
Thys will surely end up pronounced as Thays, without the hard T? I'm probably fighting a losing battle, veter Confused

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