# Derho (surname from Flanders)'



## herofix

Hello,

I hope someone will be able to help me find out a little bit more about my surname.

I have always known that my family surname was from the Flemish region of Belgium.  Indeed, using a very cool resource called the World Names Public Profiler, I found that my surname exists almost exclusively in the region of Flanders, and doesn't really feature at all in The Netherlands.

However, what I've always been curious about is whether the name has a 'literal' meaning.  Lately, I have decided that it is perhaps likely that the name might mean something like 'high'.  The 'der' portion of the name seems self-explanatory, but using Google Translate, etc. I could find no Dutch word that was simply spelled 'ho'.

How would a native Dutch speaker think of my surname if they were trying to guess its origin?

Thank you so much.


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## CapnPrep

Welcome to WRF, herofix.

I just Googled "Derho naam" and this was one of the first results:


> *Ro De, Dero(o), (de) Roo, De Rho, Derho, (de) Rode, De Rood(e), Rood(en), De Roy(e), De Roij(e), De Rooij, De Rooy, De Roey*
> Bijnaam naar de rode haarkleur.


So apparently your name means "the red[-haired] one" (and it's _de_ + _rho_, not _der_ + _ho_).


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## Joannes

It doesn't mean anything to contemporary speakers, not to me anyway (and I have a lively imagination ). To be honest, just by seeing the name, I wouldn't even guess he/she should be Flemish.

Etymologically, your name would have referred to the red colour of your ancestors' hair, according to this website:


> *Ro De, Dero(o), (de) Roo, De Rho, Derho, (de) Rode, De Rood(e), Rood(en), De Roy(e), De Roij(e), De Rooij, De Rooy, De Roey*
> *Bijnaam naar de rode haarkleur.*


 
EDIT: closely beaten by CapnPrep - 't is geen schande


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## herofix

Thank you both very much for the replies.  This was a surprise to me, but a very pleasant surprise.........because my red hair is the first thing people notice about me!!  My sister as well, but strange, not my father, or his father.  

Anyway, this has certainly made me smile.  I am an immigrant to Scotland (from the USA) and I show up not only with red hair, but also with the name to match!


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## Timidinho

I guess you've always mispronounced your name.


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## herofix

Timidinho said:


> I guess you've always mispronounced your name.



That's exactly what I spent yesterday thinking about!  I suppose it's too late to change my pronunciation now.


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## Frank06

Hi,

Just some extra information, on the verge of being off topic.
On this site, you can look up the distribution of the name in Belgium. _Derho _doesn't seem to be a common surname in Belgium (35). 
The name seems to be almost exclusively limited to the western part of Flanders, more specifically to the provinces of West and East Flanders, with a few instances in Antwerp.
According to this (Dutch) website, the name isn't to be found back at all in the Netherlands.

Groetjes,

Frank


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