Origin
It is composed of the adjective groot, from middle Dutch grote, meaning big or great, preceded by the definite article de, meaning the. It was originally a nickname for a tall person.
In 2007, there were 37,221 people in the Netherlands with this surname.
Read more about this topic: De Groot
Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed,—a, to me, equally mysterious origin for it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil. They give us, now and then, some of those luxurious sterile emotions that have a certain charm for the weak.... They are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)