Koert Genealogy

     My family name, Koert, takes its roots in the French surname, de la Court, which is recorded in a number of spellings including Cour, Court, Cort, Corte, de Court, Decourt, Decort, Delacour, Delacourt, and others.  This is a surname of medieval French origins.

     The name was applied to those involved with a manor house or equivalent as well as a Royal Court. It was also occupational for somebody employed at a court. In some cases the name could also originate from the ancient word "curt" meaning small, and hence a nickname for either a small person or more likely given the robust humor of those times - a large one!

     Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation.  Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

     The surname, de la Court remained unaltered for generations after emigration to the Netherlands in the15th century until the 17^th century when the spelling of de la Court was changed first to Court.  The name undertook several small variations, i.e., Kourt, Coert, Kort and Koert.  All of these variations occurred in the Netherlands before my 2^nd g-grandfather Hendrick Koert emigrated from Dirksland, Dirksland, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands to Rutherford, Passaic, New Jersey, USA in 1866.  My family lineage in the USA has retained the surname, Koert to the present day.