DIJKSTRA
Dijkstra
Dijkstra is a surname of Dutch origin, commonly found among British families with Dutch heritage. The name is derived from the Dutch word "dijk," which means "dyke" or "embankment," and "straat," which translates to "street." The surname likely originated as a toponymic name for someone who lived near or on a dyke or street.
Notable Individuals
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930-2002)
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra was a Dutch computer scientist and pioneer in the field of computer science. He is best known for his fundamental contributions to the development of algorithms, particularly his work on programming, formal methods, and the concept of structured programming. Dijkstra's algorithm, a graph search algorithm that finds the shortest path between nodes in a graph, is named after him.
Distribution
The surname Dijkstra is relatively rare in Britain, with most bearers of the surname residing in regions with strong Dutch connections, such as East Anglia and London.
References
Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell. A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames, H.G. Nichols, 1901.
Keulen, Sjouke Mauw, editor. Brave new world: Edsger W. Dijkstra. Springer Science & Business Media, 2008.
There are approximately 88 people named Dijkstra in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around one in a million people in Britain are named Dijkstra.
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.