Dirksen, a Mennonite family name of Frisian origin, appeared in all Mennonite West Prussian congregations. It was first mentioned in 1568 at Danzig and in 1605 at Gross Lubin. Most of the families in the Vistula Valley and their descendants adopted the form Dirks. In 1776, 42 families of this name were counted in West Prussia (without Danzig), and in 1935 (without Elbing) 62 persons. Some members of the family immigrated to Russia and North America. The name has come to be widely represented among North and South American Mennonites.

Some of the well-known representatives of this name were Alle Derks, Heinrich Dirks, and David G. Dürksen.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 68. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page:

MLA style: Reimer, Gustav. "Dirksen (Dircksen, Dirks, Duerksen, Derksen, Doerksen, Dercksen, Dyrksen, Dirssen, Dirck, Dircks, Derks) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/D575ME.html>

APA style: Reimer, Gustav. (1956). "Dirksen (Dircksen, Dirks, Duerksen, Derksen, Doerksen, Dercksen, Dyrksen, Dirssen, Dirck, Dircks, Derks) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/D575ME.html>