# Does "de" in front of a last name indicate noble origin in Dutch?



## peter0095

Hello.

I know that Tycho Brahe was Danish, but can the word "de" come from Dutch to indicate his noble origin, linguistically? In other words, does "de" in front of a last name indicate noble origin in Dutch?

He knew some people from Holland. There were his architects: Hans van Paschen, Hans van Stenwinkel, both from Nederlands.

Thank you.


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## Linnets

What does the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe have to do with Dutch surnames with _de_?


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## peter0095

The question is the origin of the "de" word in his last name. It appears in more languages, e.g. Dutch, Italian.


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## Timidinho

I don't get it. Is 'Brahe' the last name? Because there is no 'de' in there.

But to answer your question, 'de' is not noble. A lot of names with 'de' (the) are followed by a profession or other description of the person, but I'm not sure if that's always the case. Names like De Boer, De Bakker mean the farmer, the baker. De Jong, De Roo(d) = The Young (one), The Red (one).


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## peter0095

Brahe is the last name, but at many places it appears with "de" in front of it. Here is a photo of his residency in Prague:


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## Timidinho

Ah, so his name is Tycho de Brahe or  Tycho Brahe? 

I don't know the guy or his history, but if "de" is like in Romance languages it perhaps means "from/of". Cause the name to me sounds like Tycho of Prague but in another language. Not Dutch.


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## peter0095

It was probably added in Prague to indicate his noble status. Many people had "von" to distinguish themselves from the not noble people.

If it doesn't mean a noble status in Dutch, it does not have an origin in the Dutch culture. Thank you.


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## Timidinho

Makes sense I guess. Funny, cause the Dutch equivalent "van" doesn't indicate any nobility.


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## peter0095

Can any of the following expressions indicate nobility in the Dutch culture?

("van" can be followed by a last name or by a location and "Graaf" can be added to it in case of the last name)

a) van Graaf Brahe
b) van Brahe
c) de Brahe
c) van Praag


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## Linnets

peter0095 said:


> The question is the origin of the "de" word in his last name. It appears in more languages, e.g. Dutch, Italian.


In Italian he used to be known as _Ticone_, not _Tycho de Brahe_. It's true that we use _de_ in surnames (both nobiliar or not) but not in that case.

Wikipedia states: "a spurious appellative form of his name, _Tycho *de* Brahe_, arose only much later." No reference. A Google search returned a lot of websites from the Czech Republic (Prague). Probably it is where that form originated.


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## GraVin

Such names as "de Brahe" (he was an astronomer I think) tend to get shortened, usually once they get famous enough to be listed in indices to books - Beethoven is technically "van Beethoven" and his name is also Dutch. Ludwig van Beethoven, but Beethoven for short. Von Suppé, von Weber in music as well.

Where there is a difference, or so I understand, is in that prefix "van". Capitalised it is not noble: "Van"; but in lower case it is noble: "van". I may stand to be corrected. In Belgium it's usually followed by a place name if the "Van" is joined to form one word - look on the map and you'll usually find it. Vanmalderen, for instance, from Malderen, near Dendermonde.


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## ThomasK

Normally, in Belgium at least, "de" without capitals indicates aristocratic origin, but then only in combination with place names, I think. The general "De" (or D') in Flemish names refers - as some kind of "the" - to a trait or an occupation. But of course lots of people do not recognize the place in aristocratic names, or even the occupation or the trait in general names...


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