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The 17th century ancestors of the van Staden family lived in a Holland which was one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in the world, and the material resources and sense of confidence which flowed from riches and political success inspired a great flowering of art and culture. The Dutch family name van Staden is classified as being of habitation name origin. The phrase "habitation names" is used to describe those family names which find their origins in the location of the residence of the initial bearer. In some instances such names are derived from the name of the town or region where the original bearer was born or resided. Others refer to the geographic location of the original bearer's home while still others may refer to a sign displayed over the door of his residence. With regard to the family name van Staden, the appellation can be traced to the town of Staden, which is located near Roeselare in the Belgian province of West-Vlaanderen. This community was first mentioned in documents from the year 1109 and was the center of a "heerlijkheid" (domain) of sixty-three hectares. The town church, which dates from at least 1149, was plundered during the religious conflict of 1566. One of the earliest references to this name or to a variant is a record of the "De Staden" family, whose members were the "heeren" (lords) of Staden in the thirteenth century. Early city records for both Belgium and Holland show categorically that the use of hereditary family names began within the metropolitan areas of both countries as early as the thirteenth century. |
