In Dutch, lower case is the normal spelling for de and van. The same was true in France. Because "de" was wrongly associated with aristocracy by the French revolutionaries (wrongly, because they assumed everyone with a "de" was noble. In France there are any number of families using the "de" that are not. This is as compared to Germany, where the "von" is usually but not always used by the nobility.), the revolutionaries obliged everybody to write capitals and even to make one word of their name, such as Deparis instead of de Paris.
In fact, though most families in Germany that carry the "von" are of the nobility, there are a substantial number of families there (mainly from the North) that have carried the "von" since their origin and are not noble, and make no pretense to be so. (An example are the von Kranichfelds). Just as with "de" or "van", the "von" should always be uncapitalized, unless it would be grammatically incorrect, such as at the beginning of a sentence.
As a way of differentiating themselves from non-nobles the aristocracy of northern Germany uses the abbreviation "v." in most cases, instead of writing out the "von", while still pronouncing the whole word. In southern Germany the entire "von" is usually spelled out.
Return to Genealogy Home Page
Send your comments to Randy Jones
Last Update: June 18, 2001