RARE ETHNIC SURNAMES of Sri Lanka – By Des Kelly

          Sent in to me by my good friend and co-musician Dallas Achilles, I reckon that a multitude of Lankan Burghers would have still not had the privilege of reading about how their Surnames originated. This is their chance to do so, and I would like to thank Dallas very much, for this important information. 

          Personally, I understand that the Kelly’s are NOT Dutch, Portuguese or any other Burgher Clan, that I can think of, simply because my forefathers did arrive in Ceylon (when they did), from Ireland, Dublin, to be exact, and although my dear mother, God bless her soul, was pure Dutch (she was a Miss Kriekenbeek), the old Dutch Burgher Union, did not bother to register us (Kelly’s) as Dutch Burgher, so then, I suppose, I would have been termed a Ceylonese Alien. It does not matter however, because I have frequently been called many things far worse than that.

          Getting back to this most interesting “post” for ALL the interested members and readers of eLanka, here’s hoping that every one of you will enjoy reading about the people who were considered to be “the light of Lanka”, that was gradually dimmed by certain Politicians who should have known much better (but folks, that is another story). 

          Desmond Kelly.

         (Editor-in-Chief) eLanka. 

RARE ETHNIC SURNAMES ~ SOON TO GO EXTINCT

The multi ethnic Sri Lankan society has since recent decades witnessed innumerable changes and many of the most notable ethnic communities are now on the brink of extinction, with the population dwindling to a noble handful. Some of the most colourful surnames that once stood as a beacon to
help distinguish ethnic backgrounds of locals have now gone into abeyance.
The ethnographers are of the opinion that the frequent intermarriages with members of the prominent Ethnic groups and death of male line descendants have gradually airbrushed the identities of many minorities. It is sad to
note that there is hardly any material written on the subject of Lankan Onomatology, however it is unmistakably clear that many of the Lankan patronymics and surnames have European roots.
CEYLON BURGHER COMMUNITY
The Ceylon Burgher Community is the finest exponent of this European Onomatology in Sri Lanka, as the members of the community carry some of the World’s rarest surnames which at present verge on extinction. The ancestors of the Dutch Burghers were not necessarily Dutch by ethnic origin as the
Dutch East India Company installed hundreds of mercenaries from all parts of Europe who later reached the shores of Lanka to strengthen the Dutch garrisons on the Island. These Europeans later espoused local women and paved the way for the Lankan Eurasian Community, which later came to be
known as ‘Dutch Burghers’ meaning ‘Town Dwellers’.
The Dutch surnames can be recognised by the ‘tussenvoegsel’ referring to the words positioned between the forename and last name similar to the Scottish prefixes. Many Dutch surnames begin with ‘Vanden’ a collective term meaning ‘from the’, while prefixes such as ‘Van’ meaning ‘of or from’, ‘der’ meaning ‘of the’ and ‘de/het/t’ meaning ‘the’ are commonly used by the Dutch Burghers in Sri Lanka. The fifth Solicitor General of Sri Lanka was Mr. James Van Langenburg and based on his surname it is clear that the
progenitor of his family hailed from the German village Langenburg.
The Ceylonese Van Geyzals descend from Franc Van Geyzal from Belgium (St.Nichola’s) who married the daughter of Angelo Pegolloti, an Italian, and his descendant Carl Theodore van Geyzel, was a first class Lankan cricketer. While the Vandorts, trace their lineage to the Dutch hamlet
named ‘Dordrecht’, and the first Vandort to have set foot on Lankan soil was Cornelis Jansz Van Dort from Utrecht who arrived on the ship “Bellois” in 1700 and settled down in Galle. One of his descendants was Leonhard Kalenberg Van Dort, born in 1831, a famous artist whose watercolours of
19th-century Sri Lanka can still be found in Leiden and Lankan Cricketer Michael Vandort is yet another descendant.
The famous ‘Van’ prefixed surnames include, van Arkadie (from Arkadiem, France), van Cuylenburg (from Culenberg, Germany), van Dersil, van der Straaten (Van der Straeten, presumably Flemish), Van Hoff (also spelt as
Van’t Hoff like in the case of Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff, Dutch Physical and Organic Chemist), Van Rooyen (also spelt Van Rooijen, meaning those from the remote areas), Vander Zeil (from the rail), Vander Putt
(topographic name for someone living besides a ‘putt’ meaning pit or well- Village ‘Putte’ in Netherlands and Belgium), Van Sanden and Vander Gucht.
The origin of surname, Van Houghton remains blurry as ‘Houghton’ or Hutton is an Anglo Saxon habitation locational surname referring to a ‘High Town’ while ‘van’ is purely Dutch. However the early English names had three parts, the first name (Christian name), followed with ‘De’ and the name of
the place which the family lived (locational name) and Houghton is derived
from ‘De Hocton’. Nevertherless, Van Houghton is at present an endangered surname in the world, and based on the geographical spread it’s only the Ceylon Burghers who use this uncommon surname.

The De Soysas, De Silvas, Peiris, Rosayro, Dias and De Serams identify themselves as ‘Sinhalese’ though they are bearers of Portuguese surnames.
However, Dr. Lucian de Zilwa, the first Ceylon F.R.C.O.G. and former Senior Physician and Gynaecologist was a Dutch Burgher and not a Sinhalese, as substituting the letter ‘S’ for letter ‘Z’ is yet another Dutch Burgher feature seen in their surnames like Diasz (days), Peiriz, De Zoysa etc. The
prefix ‘De’ meaning ‘the’ was used by both the Dutch and Portuguese.
Surnames like De Kresters (e.g. Dr. David Morritz de Kretser, a Ceylonese Medical Researcher who later became Governor of Victoria, Australia), De Hoedt, De Koning, De Niese, De Kauwe, De Wet, De Vos, and De Coan helps
exemplify the ‘De’ prefixed Dutch Burgher surnames . Amongst the Lankan Burghers we do find abbreviated patronymic surnames, like Jansz which is
originally the Dutch surname Janszoon meaning ‘Son of Jan/ John’ while Loos is the abbreviated patronymic of ‘Lodewijk’ meaning ‘akin to Louise’. Other Dutch surnames used by the Burghers include Prins (meaning Prince), Antonisse, Andriesz, Baldesinger, Brohier (R.L.Brohier, an Engineer who built Ceylon’s first whole irrigation system), Bulne, Beekman (meaning ‘Creek man’), Claasz, Ebert, Engelbrecht (glorious Angel),Foenander,
Fernandez (son of Fernando/ Spanish), Frugtniet, Kegel (Dutch and German origin) Kelaart, Martinus, Melder, Meynert, Milhuisen, Neydorff, Passe, Philipsz, Scharenguivel, Werkmester, Wille, and Willenberg.

The ‘Barthalomeaucz’ is of course such a totally unheard of name in present day Sri Lanka however in the bygone Era, this particular patronymic was so popular that people couldn’t ignore. As we delve deep into the etymology of this distinctive surname it is clear that the patronymic is derived from
‘Bartholomew’, meaning ‘son of Ptolemy’ based on Aramaic literature. The Dutch variant of Bartholomew known as ‘Bartholomeuszoon’ has filled several volumes of military history and Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer
(1604-1665), who bore the same patronymic, was a renowned hero of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
The earliest known ancestor of the Barthalomeaucz clan in Sri Lanka was Daniel Barthalomeaucz (1735-1798) who made settlement in Jaffna and after the advent of the British, the family expanded and domiciled in the Western
and North western provinces of British Ceylon. Some of the notable Barthalomeucz who have stamped their identity in Ceylon include Surgeon Noel Bartholomeusz and Ramani Barthalomeaucz, former model, actress and Miss Sri Lanka. The Sansoni’s(Sansone), yet another unique patronymic
which is neither Dutch nor German and based on onomatics it is of Italian origin. The name is originally the Italian variant of English Samson meaning Sun child or bright sun in Hebrew. Guiseppi Joseph Sansoni born in Italy, regarded as the progenitor of the Sansoni clan in Ceylon was the commander of the ship “Livorna” which served the Dutch belligerents during several battles. Sansoni’s have definitely left their mark in Lankan history, and former Chief Justice Miliani Claude Sansoni who chaired the Sansoni commission
which investigated the 1977 communal violence helps testify the importance served by a Sansoni in the Lankan Judiciary. The ancestor of the Oorloff clan in Ceylon hailed from Russia as the Patronymic is derived from the Russian Eastern Ashkenazic personal name ‘Orlov’ corrupt form of ‘oryol’
meaning eagle. Andris Andriesz Oorloff (b.1730) of Rypdewack, the founder member of the family arrived in Ceylon in 1761 in the ship “Fransz Elizabeth” which served the Dutch East India Company. Back in the days of
the British both the Medical sector and the Railway Department benefited from the services extended by the Oorloffs. Besides the Oorloffs, the surname Heins/ Heyn (Major General Bertram Russel Heyn) is also derived
from Russian Hutterite/ Mennonite.

Though the bearers of the patronymic ‘Ohlmns’ identify themselves as ‘Dutch Burghers’, sources reveal that the founder member of the family was originally a German and his descendants later intermarried with other Eurasian families in Ceylon thus making this rare German Surname part of the Dutch Burgher Community. The founder member, Jan Carel Ohlmns, born at Hildesheim an ancient town located in North Western Germany arrived in the
ship ” Amelisvaart”, and later settled down in Sri Lanka as a mercenary serving the Dutch. While surnames like Koch, Gogerly and Landberger are also derived from German literature and the name Koch refers to a Cook. The surname Lourensz is derived from German (Roman) word ‘Lorenteus’ meaning ‘from Lorenteum’ and Cole is derived from German ‘Khol’ meaning ‘swarthy’.
The French in Sri Lanka are also identified as Burghers a common term used by the locals to identify those of Eurasian descent, and this French factor is clearly manifested by the use of Lankan surnames like Toussaint, Kherkovan, Crozier, Delile, Andre, Gauthier, and Spitttel. The Toussaint is French patronymic of baptismal origin and the Medieval English surname ‘Spittel’ is derived from “spital”, an aphetic form of the Old French “hospital” while Crozier is derived from old French word ‘Crois’ for crook.
Dr. Richard Lionel Spittel, was a foremost expert on Lankan veddha Community and authored several books on Lankan heritage. The Anglo Saxon (English) Burgher surnames include,Villiers (from Villiers, Normandy),White (Athlete Duncan White), Arndt( derived from Ernault or Arnolt,
meaning an eagle/ rule), Wright (from ‘wryhta’ or ‘wyrhta’, meaning worker or shaper of wood), Herft (Model Sabrina Herft), Bevan(from Welsh ‘ab Evan’ meaning ‘Son of Evan’), Deutrom, Hepponstall (Habitation surname derived from Parish Hepponstall, Yorkshire), Sella (Scottish occupational surname used to refer a merchant who works in a cellar or saddler), Rode from’ Rodd’ a village in Harefordshire, Steinwall, Robertson, Greig (pronounced ‘Greg’ originated in Scotland from the Scottish Highland clan MacGregor), Baldsing,Holdenbottle, Fraser (Scottish surname derived from French word ‘Frederius’) Keegal, Hingert, Barker etc. Morrel is a Medieval English surname derived from ‘morel’ originally from the nickname More or ‘Moore’ meaning dark complexioned man.
Last but not least, the famousOndaatje’s aren’t really Burghers as the progenitor of the clan was a Tamil Ondaatchii from Tanjore South India who was commissioned by the Dutch to serve in Ceylon.

THE CASE OF SRI LANKAN MALAY SURNAMES
The Malay Community is indeed an entity famous for its unique sounding patronymics, alas, since recent past many Malay surnames have gone extinct presumably due to frequent intermarriages. Unlike their Muslim counterparts, the Malays use distinctive prefixes along with their rare
sounding surnames. The prefixesTuan/ Maas/ Raden are used by the male folks while their women useGnei/Nona/ Sitti Nona/ Gnonya. The Malay community despite its small number is made up of an intricate network comprised of several sub ethnic groups who trace their descent from the
archipelagos of Indonesia and from the Malayan Peninsula. So the Patronymic helps trace the ancestry, social class, creed, caste etc. of a Sri Lankan Malay individual. For example, the Malay Patronymics such as Lye, Chunchie,
Doole, Kitchilan, Kutinun, Kanchil, Sainon, Bongso, Bohoran, Kuppen, Lappen and Booso helps reveal their Peranakan lineage or those of mixed Chinese-Malay heritage. Patronymics of Sanskrit/ Indian origin include
Jayah, Weerabangsa, Sinhawangsa, Jayawangsa, Wangsa, etc. while Saldin, Rahman, Drahaman, Bucker, Ramlan, Rajap, Jumat, Mannan, are those derived
from Arabic literature.
The progenitor of the Malay Kayath family in Ceylon was a local Chieftain from the Banda Archipelago known as Orang Kayat who was exiled to Ceylon by the Dutch, so the present day Kayath’s aren’t really Malays by ethnicity instead they are Bandanese. Alas,Deen Azeez Kayaths are on the brink of
extinction with just a single family left on the Island with no male line descendents. While the Raden’s anglicized as Rawdin belong to an aristocratic clan, however Raden is a Javanese title of respect and not a patronymic as used today. The ancestor of late Minister, Dr. T. B. Jayah was Raden Thurtho Perma Jayah, an aide de Camp to the Javanese King who was exiled to Ceylon.
THUS IT IS CLEAR THAT SOME OF THESE QUIRKY YET ANCIENT ETHNIC SURNAMES WHICH CAN BE CONSIDERED ‘ENDEMIC’ TO SRI LANKA ARE DYING OUT RAPIDLY WHILE SOME HAVE ALREADY GONE EXTINCT.