Before the reign of Napoleon, not all Dutch families had family names. In Friesland, home of our earliest “father” (stamvader) LOLKE HOTZES, the patronym system was used: the father’s first name became the child’s last name.

Lolke’s daughter and son, TRIJNTJE and AUKE, were named Trijntje LOLKES and Auke LOLKES. Auke’s wife Trijntje Petrus KEVERLING, came from a family who already had a family name, though she was still mainly known as TRIJNTJE PETRUS after her father, PETRUS KEVERLING.

Auke’s sons PETRUS and LOLKE were therefore named Petrus AUKES and Lolke AUKES.

This system led to confusion, and in 1811 Napoleon decreed that the head of each family unit in the Netherlands was to select a family name.

The son of Auke Lolkes chose the name BARGSMA; his grandson Auke's widow chose the name VISSER, and his grandson Jacob chose the name PRAAMSMA. The family were craftsmen, carpenters who built boats; a praam and a barg are both inland boats which were in use at the time, so Praamsma meant "praam-builder."