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Von

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Olivia von Halle, Violet von Westenholz and Fritz von Westenholz, Tatjana von Stein, Princess Florrie von Preussen, Countess Debonnaire von Bismarck

It can sound frightfully snooty to pipe up, 'And just where are you from?' Thankfully, there's no need when it comes to a von. Because von means just that: 'from' or 'of.' But enough geography; on to genealogy. For a von is what is called a nobiliary particle - so basically POSH. And a bit German. (FYI, never with a capital 'V' - V vulgar, that.)

De (French)

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Natalie de Clermont, Leah de Wavrin, Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor, Arthur de Borman, Josh de Lisser, Jazzy de Lisser, Jason de Savary

Essentially, this is just a surname. Soz. The direct translation is 'of' and it precedes the name of some hunk of land - but it does not necessarily denote a grand landowner, because everyone linked to the land could use it. Still, who cares? Doesn't everything sound lovely with a French twang? Nom d'un nom, après tout?

De (Spanish)

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Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, 12th Marchioness of Castelldosríus, Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, 12th Duchess of Montoro, Francisco de Asís Rivera Ordóñez (famous bullfighter, not posh - used to be married to Eugenia, though)

Surname wise the Spanish are a real pain in the culo. Their use of 'de' can mean one of two things - posh, or not at all posh. It all comes down to its placement. Deep breath: A grand family employs the format of 'surname - de - place', for example - Harry Windsor de Wales. The not remotely grand 'de' is before the entire surname when the surname has locational origins, e.g: Harry de Wales. But here's a heads up - the only way to gauge the true nobility of your Spanish exchange is if they are associated with a coat of arms. A little light Googling should do the trick.

Van

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Tom van Straubenzee,Will and Rosie van Cutsem, also Hugh, Edward and Nicholas van Cutsem, Venetia van Hoorn Alkema, Rosie van Amerongen, Pearl van den Ende1) A covered motor vehicle, typically without side windows, used for transporting goods or people.2) A Dutch preposition that does not indicate nobility in itself.

The simple '-'

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Ali Spencer-Churchill, Sam Waley-Cohen, Geordie Naylor-Leyland, Harry Wellesley-Wesley, Harry Wynn-Williams, Frederica Lovell-Pank, Alice Fermor-Hesketh, Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, Drummond Money-Coutts

Your modern girl can do as she pleases: putting a ring on it doesn't mean she must drop her surname. Not so in the olden days - nor could a husband take his wife's more reputable name. This called for a cunning plan: a sneaky little insertion of a ' - ' when a woman married down and, hey presto, a family's social status could live on.

Fitz

Susannah Fitzherbert-Brockholes, Lady FitzWalter, Viscountess Fitzharris, Lady Izo FitzRoy, Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay, Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton, Captain Charles FitzRoy

You absolute bastard! Or at least one of your ancestors was. Before you get all defensive, we use the term here in its very literal sense: Fitz means 'son of' and became prevalent in the Stuart era to signify illegitimate children of the Royal Family and noblemen. Basically, one of your ancestors was a cad.

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