rdeknijf/cbg-familienamen

CBG Familienamen — Dutch Surname Database

Look up Dutch family names in the Nederlandse Familienamenbank. Shows distribution maps (2007 and 1947 census), name etymology, spelling variants, and historical documentation for 320,000+ surnames.

No login required. Everything is publicly accessible.

URL construction

This site uses GET parameters, so you can construct URLs directly — no need to fill forms. However, Playwright is still useful for reading the rendered content and viewing map images.

Search

browser_navigate → https://cbgfamilienamen.nl/nfb/lijst_namen.php?operator={op}&naam={surname}

Operators:

• eq — exact match (default, best for specific lookups)
• bw — starts with
• ew — ends with
• cn — contains
• rx — regex (advanced)

If exact match returns one result, the page redirects directly to the detail page.

Direct detail page

https://cbgfamilienamen.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?gba_naam={name}&nfd_naam={normalized}&info={tab}&operator=eq&taal=

Name format quirk: The nfd_naam parameter uses inverted format with prefix after the base name: "Knijf, de" (not "de Knijf"). The gba_naam uses natural order: "de Knijf".

Detail page tabs

| Tab | info= value | Content | |-----|---------------|---------| | Aantal en verspreiding | aantal+en+verspreiding | Counts + distribution maps (default) | | Analyse en verklaring | analyse+en+verklaring | Etymology, name meaning, classification | | Documentatie | documentatie | Historical mentions, bibliography | | Varianten | varianten | All spelling variants and compounds |

Greyed-out tabs (class="geen_optie") have no data for this name.

What each tab shows

Aantal en verspreiding (counts & distribution)

• 2007 bearer count (per capitalization variant, e.g., "de Knijf" vs "De Knijf")
• Links to [kaart] (absolute map) and [%kaart] (relative/percentage map)
• 1947 census count with province-level map
• Distribution map: server-rendered PNG with municipality-level data via hover tooltips
• Names with fewer than 5 bearers show < 5 for privacy

Analyse en verklaring (analysis)

• Free-text etymology and meaning explanation
• Classification tags (e.g., "patroniem", "beroepsnaam", "plaatsnaam")
• Name components with links

Documentatie (documentation)

• Historical mentions with dates, locations, and source abbreviations
• Bibliography references (abbreviations link to full citations)

Varianten (variants)

• Comprehensive list of all known spelling variants, compounds, and post-name-change forms
• Parenthesized entries are uncertain/disputed variants

Workflow for genealogy research

1. Search for the surname with operator=eq
2. On the detail page, check the distribution map — this shows where the name is concentrated, which helps identify the family's likely region of origin
3. Check Varianten tab — spelling variants can help find records under old spellings
4. Check Analyse en verklaring — the etymology may reveal occupational or geographic origins
5. Compare 1947 vs 2007 distributions to see migration patterns

Quirks

• SSL certificate may fail in strict mode. If WebFetch fails, use Playwright which can be configured to ignore certificate errors.
• All data is in GET parameters — you can construct any page URL directly.
• Maps are PNG images — the actual per-municipality counts are only visible as hover tooltips on the HTML image map overlaid on the PNG.

Output format

## CBG Familienamen — [surname]

**Total bearers (2007):** [count]
**Total bearers (1947):** [count]

**Distribution:** [describe concentration — e.g., "concentrated in Gelderland,
especially Barneveld and Ede municipalities"]

**Name meaning:** [from Analyse en verklaring tab]
**Classification:** [tags — patroniem, beroepsnaam, etc.]

**Known variants:** [list from Varianten tab]

**Historical mentions:** [earliest dated mentions from Documentatie tab]