Van der Merwe

Van der Merwe is a common Afrikaans surname, derived from the Dutch van der Merwen ("from the Merwede"). It was brought to South Africa in 1661 by Dutch people employed by the Dutch East India Company.[1]

The progenitors of the extended clan are Willem Schalk van der Merwe (born in "Broeck", probably Broek, South Holland near the Merwede) and Elsje Cloete (born Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia).[2] Married in 1668 in Cape Town, they later farmed for a living in Hout Bay and eventually retired to Drakenstein.[3] Many if not most of the people below, which include 15 rugby players, are their descendants.

People

Jaco van der Merwe (1982), Insurance professional and businessman

Characters in fiction

Use in jokes

'Van der Merwe' is the butt of many South African jokes.[4]

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.