About this Site

These pages are dedicated to sharing genealogical information on the Verwoerd family name from the Netherlands. If you have a general question about the Verwoerd family history, or if you want to inquire after your Verwoerd ancestors, don't hesitate to contact us at the email address below or simply click the blue text balloon, and register with the project for free. This is a convenient way to have your family data matched with our genealogical database, and learn more about your ancestry. If you don't have a blue text balloon, click here.

Privacy notification

Please note that our genealogical information is available to direct descendants only. The information shared will and shall not be published on the internet, on cd-rom, or in any other form. If you're not happy with these conditions, please do not apply. This is a non-commercial research project, and your privacy and that of any other contributor is very important to us. Therefore you'll find on our websites indexes only, while the dates of birth of individuals that are (or may be) alive remain hidden. For further information you may want to read our FAQ which is available in both English and Dutch.

The Origin of the Verwoerd Family Name

Most Verwoerds in or outside the Netherlands are descendants of either Philips Verwoerd (Bodegraven 1540), or Willem Verwoerd (Lakerveld 1610), or Jan Verwoert (Opheusden 1610). Others descend from one of the smaller tribes such as Adriaan (Tienhoven 1670), or Jasper (Breukelen 1684). The actual spelling of the name may vary - Verwoerd, Verwoert, Verwoerdt - especially before the year 1811.

There is no proven relationship between the various Verwoerd tribes from the Netherlands. Their connection could be hidden in the past. But then, as Verwoerd is a geographical surname, identical names may also have emerged independently. The term WOERD (old Saxon: WURTH), as in the Dutch expression "hoge woerd" (i.e. high "woerd"), was used in the central part of the low countries to indicate a dwelling mound, a habitable place that was not flooded by the river. A person that lived there may have been referred to as "van de Woerd" or an equivalent in the contemporary dialect.

Furthermore there is the city of WOERDEN. The Romans named it Laurium. In the 8th century it was called Wyrdda. In the 10th century Uurdin or Wrdan, and in the 12th century Worthen or Wurthen. People originating from Woerden may have carried the surname Van Woerde(n), Van der Woerd, and indeed Verwoerd, Verwoert, or Verwoerdt. A nice detail is that there is still an area in the city centre of Woerden by the name of "Hoge Woerd". This is the place where the Roman military settlement Castellum Laurium was situated. In the 13th century the land of Woerden encompassed the cities of Woerden, Bodegraven, and Oudewater, which is the area were the ancestors of Philips Verwoerd lived. Philips himself was born near Bodegraven. This 1550's map shows what the city of Woerden looked like at that time.

Contact information

Next to the surnames of three separate tribes of VERWOERD families, these pages contain the indexes of my wife's kinsfolk, the HAAR family (which incidentally started off as the SANTING family in Zuidwolde, Drenthe), and of AMERONGEN, PEELS, VAN DUUREN (including RUIJGROK), and VERKOREN. The main index, containing about 3300 individuals, descendants of Philips Verwoerd and their spouses and parents-in-law, can be accessed from the top of this page. Additional indexes are available through the genealogy links in the frame at the left, provided your browser supports frames. For any inquiries on your ancestors, please remember to specify the details of relatives you are researching. We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Leo and Gé Verwoerd-Haar
E-mail: genealogy at verwoerd dot info