Voorhees
A Dutch surname meaning “from the front room” or “fore-house,” originally a place-based name.
The #6,012 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,976 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is explained in older Dutch surname books as coming from Dutch voorhuis, meaning the front room or forepart of a house, especially the lower hall or entrance area. In that sense, Voorhees likely began as a name for someone associated with a particular house or homestead, rather than from a personal characteristic. The literal sense is roughly “from the fore-house” or “of the front room.”
History
Voorhees is a well-known Dutch-American surname, especially associated with families that settled in New Netherland and later in New Jersey. The spelling has also appeared as Voores, reflecting older or simplified forms in English records. The surname is best known in the United States through descendants of early Dutch colonial families.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname has become especially associated with Dutch-American family history in the Mid-Atlantic states.
From the historical record
“fellow, a fine young blade. VOORHEES or VOORES. (Dutch.) From voorhuis, the fore-room of a house below, a hall. VROOMAN. (Dutch.) From vroom, honest, valiant, religious, and man — an honest or valiant man. WADE. (Dutch.) From weide, a meadow or pasture. WADSWORTH. The same as Woodsworth, the farm or place in the wood.”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names