Surname Reuvers - Meaning and Origin

Reuvers: What does the surname Reuvers mean?

The last name Reuvers is a Dutch surname with German origins. It is derived from the German surname Riwwers, which is a topographic name that refers to someone who lives near a dried-up river bed. This is evidenced by the fact that 'Riwwers' is derived from the Old Germanic word 'riuuari', which translates to dried-up river.

The earliest recorded occurrence of the surname Reuvers was in the year 1340 when Radolf Reears was mentioned in a document in Western Germany. It is believed that the name Reuvers spread to the Netherlands from Germany, where is was more commonly used and adapted to the Dutch language.

The name Reuvers is believed to be a patronymic surname, which means that an individual's surname was passed down from their father or male ancestor. As such, the surname Reuvers is most commonly associated with the Netherlands, where there are the highest concentrations of Reuvers families, according to World Names Public Profiler.

In present day, the last name Reuvers is still fairly common in the Netherlands. Due to its Germanic roots, people with the surname can also be found in Germany and other German-speaking regions.

Reuvers: Where does the name Reuvers come from?

The last name Reuvers can be found mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Germany today. The Reuvers first started fording the Rhine from Germany into the Netherlands and Belgium in the late 1500s. The Reuvers were a family of boatmen and bargemen that made their living ferrying people, goods, livestock, and supplies between the river bank towns along the Rhine.

The Reuvers often married and settled in the towns they ferried goods to, leading to the Reuvers being a much more widespread family name than others in the area which were mainly limited to their country of origin.

Today, many citizens who still carry the surname Reuvers in the Netherlands and Belgium have a family history that can be traced back generations to those boatmen of the Rhine. As recently as 1950, many Reuvers still made their living as bargemen and workers at the locks that managed goods on the river.

The Netherlands is still the country with the highest concentration of Reuvers, with an estimated 4,800 carrying the name. Belgium is home to roughly 2,000 Reuvers, and around 600 have been recorded in Germany in recent years.

Variations of the surname Reuvers

The surname Reuvers is a Dutch toponymic surname derived from the placename Reuver, which is located in the Netherlands region of Limburg. Variants of the Reuvers surname include Reuvers, Reeves, Reevs, as well as Ruevens, Reeuwens, Reeuwes, Reeuvens, Reuvens.

In Dutch, the placename Reuver is derived from the Germanic word Reve meaning 'raven', which is likely in reference to a marshy area nearby, such as a peatland. The oldest known recorded use of Reuver date back to 1350, and many early instances of the surname Reuvers have been documented since then.

The surname Reeves is an anglisized form of the Reuvers surname, likely adopted by some families as they emigrated to other regions in Europe and beyond. In English, the suffix '-s' is often replaced by '-es', which is how the Reeves spelling developed.

The alternate spellings Reevs and Ruevens may also be phonetic adaptations of the original Reuvers spelling. Reeuwens, Reeuwes, Reeuvens, and Reuvens are derivatives of the Dutch spelling Reuvens, with the letter 'u' added before the suffix 'vens'.

Famous people with the name Reuvers

• Diederik Reuvers: a Dutch actor.
• Johnny Reuvers: Dutch footballer who plays as a forward.
• Wouter Reuvers: Dutch cyclist who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
• Laurens Reuvers: Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sporting Lokeren.
• Coenraad Reuvers: Dutch painter.
• Gerard Reuvers: Dutch politician who is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy.
• Emma Reuvers: Dutch water polo player.
• jeffrey Reuvers: Dutch sprinter and Paralympic champion.
• Tom Reuvers: Dutch writer and columnist.
• Jorrit Reuvers: Dutch rally driver who competes in the World Rally Championship.

Other surnames

Reuver