h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Websailor! That's very interesting to have a bit of that ship! The HMS Terrible was involved in the Boxer Rebellion as well.

Maybe it's because the Boer leaders Christiaan de Wet, Louis Botha, and C. J. de Villiers were involved? All those surnames are on my list.

To continue ...

Eichhorn - German, means Squirrel. Not a very common surname but a cute one!

Eksteen - Cornerstone or keystone.

Eloff - derived from Egloff, which is derived from Agilwolf which means the Wolf with the Sharp Sword! One of our famous artists is Zakkie Eloff. He painted mostly wildlife and is an inspiration to me! We have some of his original paintings here, and I know some of his relatives also. Zacharias Arend Eloff, the 'family father', arrived in South Africa in 1759 and was a soldier, later a carpenter. 'Arend' means 'eagle' by the way!

Els - contraction of Else, which is derived from the Germanic name Eliso. Ernie Els is a world-class golf player.

Engelbrecht - from a common male first name of the middle ages.

Erasmus - 'The Beloved', a quite ancient name, remember Desiderius Erasmus? Currently a common surname here.

Erwee - from German, 'Erwien' - a name once popular especially in the Rhineland. Surname of the second girl I fell madly in love with.

Esterhuyzen (Or Esterhuysen) - from Fench Estreux.

Eybers - from any of several villages in Germany named Eib or Eyb. Elisabeth Eybers was a very famous poet; my father enjoyed her work and painted a picture of her.

Ferreira - Portugese surname, perhaps meaning a smith. This is a very common South African surname, immortalised in the traditional song 'vat jou goed en trek, Ferreira', meaning 'take your stuff and leave, Ferreira'.

Fouché - French, 'One of the army', a warrior.

Fourie - harvester or someone who sells hay or cattle feed. Jopie Fourie was a 'rebel' Afrikaner who refused to fight against the Germans in German West Africa (now Namibia) in the Second World War and was subsequently executed by firing squad. He is until today seen as a hero who died for his principles.

Fuchs - German, means Fox.

Geldenhuys - Dutch for German 'Gildenhaus', a town near the Dutch border.

Germishuysen/Germishuyzen/Germishuisen/Germishuizen - from German 'Gemmershausen', a place in Germany.

Gilliomee (Guilliaumé, Guillome) - diminutive of Willem (Guillaume in French). Herman Gilliomee is a political author. His book 'Die Afrikaners' which was published a few years ago is essentially a biography of my people.

Goosen - derived from ancient name Godowin, 'child of God'. Anton Goosen is a famous folk musician and songwriter.

Gouws - from French Gauche, meaning a merry person.

Graaf(f)/Greeff: someone in service to an Earl or a Count. Immortalised in the name of one of our towns, Graaff-Reinet.

Greyling - 'The Shining/Sparkling One' ... OR ... the Fearsome one, the Frightener! I have Greyling relatives.

Grobbelaar/Grobler - Rough, big, strong. Pieter Willem Grobbelaar is a collector of old folk and fairy tales and a writer of mainly children's stories or humorous books. He was also a professor in Afrikaans cultural history and wrote some history books as well. Among the valuable work he's done is the writing down of folk tales of the Khoi-San people.

Groenewald - from German, means green forest.

Grosskopf - German, means big head.

Grove/Grové - actually from Danish, probably means 'the big one'.

Right, will end here for now!

'I have Greyling relatives' sounds vaguely like something a character would say in a fantasy novel. Or an MMO.

Mind you, I can't talk. I have Broome relatives...the Broomes were early domestic terrorists. They didn't even wait for the US to be founded before burning down the courthouse...which is why there aren't more records in Monroe, North Carolina...

.

Great band name that would be, The Greyling Relatives. . hmm. Well, I would buy the album. .

So interesting these surnames and thanks again, Willem. This is great! I like Eksteen. Great name that, Eksteen. Cornerstone or keystone.

DEAR WEBSAILOR,

MAYBE YOU WILL BELIEVE THAT I AM STILL AROUND. !!

i MUST TELL WILLEM THAT I WAS CALLED BY MY FIRST NAME AFTER A VERY FAMOUS BOER GENERAL CALLED GENERAL CHRISTIAAN DE WET; I THINK IT WAS.

AS THE FRENCH WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE BOERS DURING THE ANGLO BOER of 1902 WAR, MY GRANDPARENTS GAVE MY FATHER who was born iin 1902 HIS SECOND NAME OF CHRISTIAN AFTE THE FAMOUS GENERAL NATURALLY, THE ENGLISH AND THE FRENCH HAVE BEEN SPARRING FOR MANY YEARS!!!)

WHEN I WAS BORN I WAS GIVEN THE FEMININE NAME OF CHRISTIANE - AND ALTHOUGH I KNEW THE TRUE ORIGIN OF MY NAME I WAS TOO FEARFUL EVER TO TELL ANYONE!1.

NOW I AM SO OLD I DO NOT CARE A HOOT.

I AM CALLED CHRISTIANE AFTER GNERAL CHRISTIAN DE WET.

I WONDER HOW MANY SOUTH AFRICAN WOJEN CAN CLAIM THAT RIGHT AND HONOUR. !!!

CHRISTIANE,
AKA
ALSO RAN 83/84
THE IRREPRESABLE - AND I WOULD HOPE COURAGEOUS....

TUESDAY 20TH MARCH 2012

I HOPE MR. EDITOR THAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE TO EDIT IT CORRECTLY. THANK YOU FOR POINTING IT OUT TO ME.

Now would you kindly unlock me and I can go and proceed with my nomal life. !!!! keep well and happy anc congratulations on being the supervisor of all the writing of the aspiring hootoo researchers.

Hi Cactuscafe, Dmitri and AR83! It's great to see you here again, Christiane! I don't know of any other woman who's named after Christiaan de Wet either!

Dmitri and Cactuscafé, maybe I should think of a fantasy people/kind of creatures called 'The Greylings' ...

Anyways to get on with the names! On to H now ...

Haarhof(f), means 'Farm in the Heather' sort of. P. C. Haarhoff is one of the precious few Afrikaans science fiction writers - and a great one in my humble opinion!

Haasbroek - 'Bunny Pants' if taken literally in contemporary Afrikaans but actually it means 'Brook (or stream) where the Hares Are'. P(ieter). J. Haasbroek is a friend and an author of short stories as well as novels, some controversial such as dealing with the Cambodian Killing Fields, or (future) Post-Apartheid South Africa. A very intelligent and interesting person.

Hanekom - Cock (as in chicken) Farm. Derek Hanekom is our current deputy minister of Science and Technology.

Hartzenberg - 'Heart Mountain'. Ferdi(nand) Hartzenberg was a right-wing politician, the last leader of the Konserwatiewe Party (Conservative Party - see you could have guessed that!) The party doesn't exist any more.

Hattingh - Son of Hatto (German origin).

Havinga/Havenga - Son of Ave (a Friesian man's name).

Heese - 'Brushwood'. Marié Heese is a novelist, including of children's stories.

Heinrich - German for 'Henry'.

Hendri(c)ks(e) - Son on Hendrik (=Henry). Allan (given name Helenard) Hendrickse was a Coloured (note that this means something different here than in the USA, it denotes a particular mostly Afrikaans-speaking but non-white ethnic group) minister, teacher and politician who fought Apartheid 'from within' because Coloured people did have limited representation in the government. In 1987 he defied petty apartheid laws by swimming at a 'whites only' beach. In 1994 he joined the ANC.

Henning - a nickname or diminutive of Johannes.

Herbst - Autumn.

Herholdt - from Germanic man's name Herold. Sonja Herholdt is a popular singer and songwriter, mostly known for cheerful or sentimental but always tuneful songs.

Hertzog - 'Duke'. J. B(arrie). M. Hertzog was a General leading the Boers during the Second Boer War, and later Prime Minister of South Africa. He did much to uplift Afrikaners after the war, but in the process helped lay the foundations for the later Apartheid state.

Heunis - Son of Heune (form for Hendrik (= Henry)).

Heyns - Son of Heyn or Hein (from Heinrich (= Henry)). Johan Heyns was a very prominent theologian, liberal and opposed to Apartheid. Was assassinated in 1994 (while playing cards with his wife and young grandchildren). Murder was never solved, but might have been by right wingers.

Heystek - 'Road over the Heath'. Pronounced 'haystack'.

Hofmey(e)r - 'Farm Manager' or 'Resident of Main Farm'. Steve Hofmeyr is a very well known singer, sometime actor, and pretty outspoken over pretty much everything. ('onze' = 'our') Jan Hofmeyr was a politician who helped create the idea of 'Afrikaners' during the nineteenth century.

Holtzhausen - 'Wooden House'. Another rather funny-sounding surname.

Honiball - 'The beloved', 'The Loving'. You might deduce that from how it sounds in English! T. O. Honiball was perhaps our best cartoon/comic artist. He created three cartoon series: Oom Kaspaas (Uncle Kaspar), a gent who told stories of the Baron von Münchausen sort but always at the end of every tall tale received his come-uppance, usually at the hands of his virago wife Engeltjie ('Little Angel'); and two series with anthropomorphic animals, Jakkals en Wolf (Jackal and Wolf) and Adoons-hulle (Adonis and his folks) which was about baboons, but typically these caricatured human types.

Hoogendijk - 'High Dike', another funny-sounding surname.

Hoogenhout - 'High Forest'.

Hougaard - meaning unknown. Derick Hougaard was a very popular rugby player; Karin Hougaard is a singer/musician, one of the first to do real pop and rock music in Afrikaans (in the early eighties).

Hugo - French name. Pronounced very differently in Afrikaans - you English speakers won't be able to do it because the 'u' as well as the 'g' sounds we use in Afrikaans don't exist in English.

Human - short for 'Hugeman' wich doesn't mean huge man, but is a diminutive for Hugbert (Hubert).

We have very few surnames starting with I. The only noteworthy one is:

Immelman - son or descendant of Imo (Irmin), 'the great, the mighty', nickname for Germanic Sky God. Another rather kick-butt name!

Right will stop there!

You don't have Inman? That's a North Carolina name, but I'm not sure where it comes from. It may be German, we have German names as well as English and Scots Irish names.

Hi again folks! No, Dmitri, I don't know of anyone with the surname Inman over here, sorry! But it seems to be of Anglo Saxon origin and refers unsurprisingly to someone tending an inn!

To continue ...

Jacobs - son of Jacob (=James). Very common surname with variants like Jacobse, Jacobsen, Jacobson, Jacobsz, Jacobusen.

Jansen - son of Jan (= John). Another frequent surname, and still very frequent in the Netherlands also. Jonathan Jansen is rector of the University of the Free State, an author and newspaper columnist, with strong views on a variety of topics, but especially education. He is a non-white Afrikaans speaker.

Jonker - apparently Germanic, meaning not clearly known. Ingrid Jonker was a poet and rather tragic figure, involved with the Afrikaans literary world in the sixties, committed suicide by walking into the sea in 1965.

Jooste - Son of Joost, derived from Job.

Jordaan - from the river Jordan via French Jourdain.

Joubert - French, variant Jaubert, 'the brilliant one, the sparkling one' (meaning outstandingly good rather than someone/something from a Stephenie Meyers novel).

Kannemeyer - seller or maker of cans. J. C. Kannemeyer was a major authority of Afrikaans literature and a biographer of authors. We ... actually now it is just I ... have many of his books in the library here.

Kemp - Fighter, Champion. Bettie Kemp is prominent personality in radio and was one of the first to appear on TV when it started here in the early seventies.

Kleinschmidt - a smith who forges small things, like nails or pins or small locsks.

Kleynhans - little John.

Klopper - 'knocker' - someone who had the JOB of waking people up by knocking (at the door, one would hope ...)

Knoetze/Knoesen/Knoetzen - 'son of Knoet/Knud' (which some of you might recognise better as Canute). Kallie Knoetze was a boxer, who passed into mythology and features in many jokes, often accompanied in them by another real-life boxer/wrestler, Mike Schutte, or the legendary fictitious joke character Koos van der Merwe.

Koch - Cook. German origin.

Koekemoer - REALLY funny name. It means, if taken literally, beating up (actually a crude and obscene way of saying that) a cake. Actually it refers to someone who lived by a marsh with lots of (red? why red?) frogs. Vernon Koekemoer became a 'meme' over here. That's not even his real name, but a photo of this rather brawny guy went viral and 'he' (the ficionalised Vernon rather than the real person whose photo it was) is now considered our own 'Chuck Norris'.

Koornhof - Wheat Farm (or farmer). Piet Koornhof was an early Liberal Afrikaner, much joked with for his huge nose and ears.

Kotze - VERY funny name, since 'kots' means 'to barf'. Actually it is a shortened version of 'Kotsasse' (and if you combine the Afrikaans and English meanings there ...) which apparently means a small farmer. So next time you want to insult someone who truly deserves it, try calling him a 'small farmer' ...

Kramer - small merchant or peddler. David Kramer is a very well known singer and songwriter with a very 'folkish' style. Has been doing his thing for decades, often working with non-white musicians, and has done much to oppose apartheid and prejudice.

Kriek! Literally means 'cricket' in contemporary Afrikaans, but apparently refers to someone who is really difficult and ornery and out to make trouble. Johan Kriek was one of our best-ever tennis players and, strangely enough, *nothing* like John McEnroe.

Krige - militant, headstrong. Perhaps of the same origin as German 'Krieg' (= war). Uys Krige was an author and poet, one of our best. Alice Krige is an actress who achieved considerable fame outside South Africa as well.

Krog - Innkeeper. Antjie (= little Ann) Krog is a famous poet and author, tending to the controversial, but very talented. Has written 'Country of My Skull' which is about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its findings and also about how she as an Afrikaner had to face up to the horrors we had committed.

Wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_of_My_Skull

Kruger/Krüger: a rural innkeeper. Our most famous president ever was Paul Kruger. He was the one who led us in our resistance against the British in the second Boer War. Sort of our version of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill.

Kühn - short of Koenraad or Konrad (= Conrad, Germanic name).

OK it's midnight over here so I'd better stop!

Oh ... and I forgot to say but Paul Kruger, also known as Oom Paul or Uncle Paul, maintains his popularity in spite of the fact that we had *lost* that war ...

That's okay, we lost, too, but we still liked Robert E Lee...

Except for those people in Oregon. They got mad when a stretch of highway got named after him. In outrage, they demanded to know why the US government was naming highways for Confederate generals...this was in the 1990s...

The Highway Department replied, 'We aren't. We are naming highways for former heads of the US Army Corps of Engineers.'

Now, if I had the name 'Kotse', I'd change it. (But Alice Krige is well-named. She's pretty, too.)

Hi Willem,

What a wonderrul surprise to switch on and find your reply. well, ou kerel, I am one who is called after Christiaan de Wel !!

I always thought it was a French name until my Papa enlightened me.

it was good to hear your news. i seem to take ages to get myself on line, so am pleased that it has happened at last.

go well and have a wonderful weekend,

Also Ran83,
Christiane,
sATURDAY 31ST MARCH 2012 15.07 bst

Saturday 31st March 2012 15.00 BST

Hi Dmitri and Christiane! Sorry for neglecting this thread. I’ll get back on it.

So to continue:

Labuschagne – French, (someone who lives by the) small forest. Over here almost anyone with the surname gets called Lappies (little pieces of cloth), so Lappies Labuschagne. One such is a rugby player, real name Pieter.

La Grange – French, a leased farm.

Lamprecht – derived from the name Lambert, meaning as far as I can determine ‘bright/shining land’.

Landman – means farmer! Christina Landman is a theologian who often writes newspaper articles. Rather an earthy style, emphasizes women’s issues in religion.

Langenhoven – A long yard (as in farmyard). Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven was a famous poet and writer of the late Nineteenth to early Twentieth Century, very witty, considered one of the most influential people ever in the promotion of the Afrikaans Language. I would call him South Africa’s version of Mark Twain, but more prolific and, over here he’s even more highly esteemed than Twain is in the USA. He wrote our National Anthem, ‘Die Stem van Suid Afrika’ (The Voice of South Africa) which is still official today though now combined with Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. Langenhoven is still affectionately known as ‘Sagmoedige Neelsie’ (Gentle Neelsie). His humorous stories have been made into TV series. For interests’ sake: I’ve a cousin named Cornelis and my brother-in-law is named Jakobus.

Lategan – Let-it-go, perhaps first a nickname. Tjol (which is often used to mean rubbish) Lategan was a famous rugby player.

Leipoldt – derived from the name Leopold, which roughly means ‘brave lion’ or ‘brave as a lion’. C(hristian) Louis Leipoldt was another famous poet who lived from the Nineteenth into the Twentieth Century. What interests me especially about him is his interest in botany. He lived in one of the floristically most interesting regions of South Africa, the Hantam Karoo, and has some species of succulent plants named after him. His poetry is also very highly regarded; ‘Oom Gert Vertel’ (Uncle Gert Tells) is one of his best known poems.

Le Roux – the brown one (referring to hair). Etienne (actually Stephen) le Roux was one of our best writers, I think we have all his books. Quite funny, quite controversial, often satirical, one book (Magersfontein, O Magersfontein!) got banned here and of course this made it very popular. It got awarded the Hertzog Prize for Literature, the most prestigious award in the country. He also got the Hertzog Prize for his book ‘Sewe Dae by die Silbersteins’ (Seven Days at the Silbersteins). His books are weird, surreal, with metaphors and symbolism and silliness also.

Lochner – from Lochen, a town in Bavaria. Helena Lochner was an author of children’s books, which numbered amongst the ones I grew up with in the seventies.

Lombard – from Lombardy, Italy.

Lourens (= Lawrence) – from Lorentz which comes from Laurentius, meaning ‘man from Laurentum’, a village near Rome. A fictional example: Oom (Uncle) Schalk Lourens is the narrator in the majority of the humorous short stories of our famous writer Herman Charles Bosman.

Louw – shortened Dutch form of Lourens (see above). We have some very famous people here: N. P. van Wyk Louw, MAJOR poet and author, quite philosophical and reflective; also a teacher, my father studied under him; W.E.G. Louw, his brother, also a poet, and Anna M. Louw, their niece, a famous author and novelist.

Luyt – from old Germanic Liutbald or Luithari, meaning perhaps ‘powerful/brave/bold people’. Louis Luyt worked himself up from a rugby player to a businessman, rugby administrator, publisher and politician. He founded the English language paper ‘The Citizen’ with secret funding from the Apartheid Government with the purpose of spreading pro-Afrikaner propaganda amongst the English-speaking segment of the population. (The paper still exists and currently its readership is mainly middle-class black men). Luyt became very rich, remained controversial, but amassed quite a ‘following’, founded his own political party and eventually merged it with the conservative, mostly Afrikaans Freedom Front. Inspired the pun ‘better Luyt than never’. But has not been in the news lately.

Fascinating reading about Louis Luyt

I hope to be able to contribute something towards this really good "historical" history of S.A. as I obtained my Masters degree cum laude from Stellenbosch University in 1980.I am a phenomenologist and have found it a wonderful tool in my research into the Social conditions in a country. It does not prescribe a solution - it describes it which is what most behavioural social scientists dislike. Most of them critcised both Husserl and Alred Schutz who founded the discipline and adhered to it in their research. i believe I tried to write something about it once on this website but I think it was either not published or profoundly criticised....!!!

However, I am very proud to be able to say that my Masters thesis is in the British Museum, the British Library and in the Library of Congress in the USA, It is widely quoted in all the recent works which are coming out from South Africa which I really enjoy. !! They probably all think I have left this earth....

Keep up with it my friend you are doing great work. !1

Sincerely,

alsoRan83
Christiane
Monday 16th April 2012 17.05 GMT