The peasants in the Netherlands didn't have 'official' surnames until an edict from Napoleon made them mandatory. Many of the peasants didn't take it seriously, and an odd sense of humor can be seen in the surnames they picked: Naaktgeboren "Born Naked", Vroegindewei "Early in the Pasture", and Uittenbroek "Out of his pants"
I'm not Dutch, so this has no real relevance except it really made me laugh.
Monday, January 02, 2006
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