These Internet pages describe the complete archives of the Dutch Bloothooft or Bloothoofd family. 

In 1663, the family name was recorded for the first time for water miller Claes Dircksz Bloothooft, who lived in the Schermer polder, 30 km north of Amsterdam. The family name can have two interpretations. The first one is 'bald head', the second one is 'bare headed'. Since the second interpretation should actually read Blootshoofds and since the 's' never has been used in documents, the first interpretation may be the right one. The family name came into existence as a nickname. In that time, in the South Schermer mill area there were two neighbours named Claes Dirckz (Claes,  son of Dirck), the water miller and the master carpenter. For everybody it was easier to distinguish them by nick name: the water miller as Bloothooft, the other one as Baas (master of the carpenters). Both nicknames became surnames.

In the 17^th and 18^th century the Bloothooft family lived in and around the Schermer polder. There were seven branches of the family with occupations such as water miller, farmer, and farm labourer. In the 19^th century  the family spread in 13 twigs over the province of North-Holland while several members tried their luck in the city of Amsterdam. Many families had a hard living and fought against poverty and diseases. The 20^th century meant better conditions, better education, and better jobs. The family moved to other  provinces of The Netherlands and even migrated to the United States and Australia.

These pages are all in Dutch, but navigation is kept as transparant as possible. A family tree ("stamboom") presents a quick overview. I hope you will enjoy browsing through pages and time.

If you have any remarks or questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Still there in the Schermer. A 17th century wind mill from the time the Bloothooft/d family came into existence. The mill hosted many early generations of the family.