Until the twentieth century, the Dutch followed a particular way to name their children. The classic "Dutch Naming Custom" specifies that children are named after their grandparents in a prescribed way. If there are more than two boys or girls, different methods are used such as using favorite uncles, aunts or cousins. In some places the method was defined down to the 6h boy and girl. Below is presented the method for up to six boys and six girls; and it is inclusive of the classical Dutch naming system. More information can be found in an article by Miriam Klassen (see our Other Links Section). I have illustrated the custom using the children of Matthijs and Trijntje van der Kloot and also Adrianus and Martha Vanderkloot. The classical method works perfectly for both families. The longer custom, though, matches fairly well also.

Matthijs and Trijntje Vanderkloot's Children

Boys	According to the Custom their Children were Named
The first son is named after his paternal grandfather.	Adrianus after his grandfather Adrianus van der Kloot
The second son is named after his maternal grandfather.	Klass after his grandfather Klass Smit
The third son is named after his father's paternal grandfather.	Marinus after his grandfather Marinus van der Kloot
The fourth son is named after his mother's paternal grandfather.	Pieter after the father of Klaas Smit who has not yet been identified
The fifth son is named after his father's maternal grandfather.	Matthijs after his grandfather Matthijs Dominé
The sixth son is named after his mother's maternal grandfather.	Cornelius after the father of Aagtje Teun who has not yet been identified

Matthijs and Trijntje Vanderkloot's Children

Girls	According to the Custom their Children were Named:
The first daughter is named after her maternal grandmother.	Aagtje after her grandmother Aagtje Teun
The second daughter is named after her paternal grandmother.	Maatje after her grandmother Maatje Dominé
The third daughter is named after her mother's maternal grandmother.	Maria after the mother of Aagtje Teun who has not yet been identified
The fourth daughter is named after her father's maternal grandmother.	Jannetje should have been named after Teuntje Sloot to follow the custom

The only name that does not follow the custom is Jannetje who should have been named after Teuntje Sloot. Further research will hopefully reveal the missing names for the parents of Klaas Smit and Aagtje Teun to verify if Pieter, Cornelius and Maria follow the more detailed naming custom.

Adrianus and Martha Vanderkloot's Children

Boys	According to the Custom their Children were Named:
The first son is named after his paternal grandfather.	Matthew after his grandfather Matthijs van der Kloot
The second son is named after his maternal grandfather.	Arthur after his grandfather Aart Tanis
The third son is named after his father's paternal grandfather.	Adrian after his great-grandfather Adrianus van der Kloot

Adrianus and Martha Vanderkloot's Children

Girls	According to the Custom their Children were Named:
The first daughter is named after her maternal grandmother.	Aletta after her grandmother Dirkje Aletta Tanis
The second daughter is named after her paternal grandmother.	Tryntje after her grandmother Trijntje Smit
The third daughter is named after her mother's maternal grandmother.	Marie after grandfather Martha van Driel

There is a good match except that Aletta came from Dirkje Aletta Blaak's middle name and it is assumed that Marie is a variant of Martha.