Van der Veen

van der Veen is a common Dutch surname. It originates from north west Germany or adjoining areas in the Netherlands. "Veen" is a type of soil, specifically bog or turf (similar to the type originating in lakes that have slowly been filled with half-decomposed plants, moss and algae and known as "raised bog". In Dutch this type of bog is known as "laagveen" or low bog. "Hoogveen" (high bog) is turf or bog covering higher ground, the English equivalent is "blanket bog". Both types of bog (veen) have largely been used for fuel and mostly disappeared in the Netherlands. The same has happened in Germany where enormous areas have been stripped for fuel. Nearly all Dutch turf (veen) has been used for fuel as well). "Van der" means "from the". Together it means "from the soil" or "from the bog". Many Dutch labourers worked the German turf fields. Usually the turf was transported by flat-bottomed ships of a type called "tjalk" via canals dug in the turf fields. Often the results were the return of lakes, like Loosdecht, Vinkeveen. More geographical names remind us of the turf e.g. Hoogeveen. Notable people with the surname include: