Tens of thousands of us carry one man's name. In our 300th year, we are finding each other.
Friesland, 1726. A farm boy with nothing to inherit, a company ship, and a far coast at the bottom of Africa. A short film in the making, from the book by Ernst van der Walt.
Three hundred years on, the family has made its own mark: fifty enamel pins of the registered arms, each numbered on the back.
The first fifty are taken. The next run is made once enough family have put their names down.
See your line run from Gaele in 1727 down to you, and how you are related to anyone on it. Free, and it stays yours.
Find your place →The family's registered 1978 arms, with your name on it. Free, and yours to keep.
See the arms →Of the Forest, one chapter a week: how one man left at the Cape became thousands of us.
Start reading →Letterhead, cards and an email signature with the arms and your name in the family's own lettering. Free.
See the lettering →Open to everyone who carries the name, by birth or by marriage. It is free, and it takes two minutes.
Find your place