The surname Vandenbempt

• Meaning of the surname.
• The different ways to write the surname.
• Very old references to the surname.

• Known coat of arms throughout the centuries.
• Return to Homepage Vandenbempt.

The meaning of the surname VANDENBEMPT.

The surname belongs to a category of names which are deducted from " location names " in the broadest sence of the word. The surname Vandenbempt means : origin of or living at a "beemd".

Beemd or Bempt is deducted from the ancient German " Banu-Math " or " Ban-Hooiland ".
This is the hayland allocated by the Lord to the the local community.

The difference between a "beemd" and a "meadow" ?

• "Beemden" are the natural grasslands in the river valleys or on the alluviated soil along a watercourse.
• "Meadows" are cultivated by a farmer between his crop land.

The different ways to write the surname.

Before the French Revolution and the introduction of the Registry of Birth, Deaths and Marriages, there existed only Parish registers. These Parish registers are kept since the Council of Trente (1545-1563).
Baptisms, marriages and death are recorded in these Registers.
As this is only a canonic and not a civil right requirement, a slip of the pen and variations of a surname is a matter of course.

The way to write the surname VANDENBEMPT differs from county to county and even from village to village.
This does not necessarily mean that these tribes are not related to each other !

To get an idea of how the surname has been listed in the Parish registers before 1800, we did some random checks.
The spelling which was most common, bears Nr. 1.

• Brussels : Births from 1575 - 1791.
  1. Vanden Bemden
  2. Vanden Bemde
  3. Vanden Bempde
  4. Vanden Bempden
  5. Vandenbempt
• Tienen : Births from 1615 - 1792.
  1. van den Bemde
  2. van den Bempde
  3. van den Bempt
  4. Vanden Bempt
  5. Van der Bemde
• Hoegaarden : Births from 1623 - 1796.
  1. Van den Bempt
  2. Van den Bemdt
  3. Van den Bemde
  4. Van den Bemt
  5. Van den Bempde

1. van : is deleted in one rare case in e.g. Debempt.
2. den : appears as de , e and der .
3. bempt : there are a lot of variants such as bemde, bempde, bempden, bemt, ..

Very old citations of the surname VANDENBEMPT.

The following data are taken from the book : " The surname Vandenbempt throughout the centuries " (in Dutch version only : "De familienaam Vandenbempt door de eeuwen heen ") and articles out of the " Magazine of the family association Vandenbempt from Brabant " (in Dutch version only : "Tijdschrift van de Familievereniging Vandenbempt uit Brabant. " )
These publications can be consulted, amongst others, in the library of the "Flemish association for genealogy" (in Dutch : Vlaamse vereniging voor Familiekunde VVF) in Antwerp.

Old citations in Flanders :

• Tervuren : anno 1330 : the family van den Beemd, also called " de Pallude ".
• Kampenhout : anno 1358 : Jan van den Bemden. (Terbank)
• Lier : anno 1360 : Jan van den Beemde.
• Laakdal : anno 1379 : Johan van den Bempde, Lord of Damereis.
• Meerbeek : anno 1400 : Jan en Walter van den Beempde, Lords of Meerbeek.
• Leuven : anno 1421 : vanden Beemden. (City accounts)
• Wolvertem : anno 1449 : Gilles Vandenbeempde, Lord of Sloosen.
• Brussels : anno 1479 : Gilles van den Bempde, alderman and adviser of the city.
• Mechelen : anno 1495 : van den Bemde. (Accounts of fish salesmen)
• Aarschot : anno 1500 : Jan van den Bempde, estate agent of the city of Aarschot.
• Zoutleeuw : anno 1506 : vanden Beemde. (accounts of the guesthouse)
• Sint-Truiden : anno 1538 : Piatus Van der Bempden ou"de Prato", alderman of the city.
• Tienen : anno 1548 : vanden Bempde. (Alderman notes)