Is hertog the same as the name Hartog?Probably, as it's a Dutch name. Cf. German
Herzog is the same as Dutch
hertog, both of which mean literally 'army-leader':
Heer 'army' and
ziehen 'to draw, pull': German
Zug 'train', English
tug,
tow, Latin
dux,
ducis, 'leader' (whence English
duke): all from PIE *
deuk- 'to lead' (
link).
A whole legion of Hartog, Hertog, Hertogs, Den Hertog / Hertogh, and more spelling variations .
Maybe when Napoleon Bonaparte forced the population to choose a family name other than "son of "or "daughter of" ( Jan Pieter's zoon Coen) some people chose to promote themselves to Duke, (Hertog) or Count (De Graaf) or King( De Koning).
Others took this new law as a joke and came out with ridiculous names , such as "Naaktgeboren" (born nude)"Nooitgedacht"(never thought of) and more nonsensical stuff; still in use till this day.
