Van Dort - the name origin, meaning and spelling

Van Dort or is it van Dort? It is beyond any doubt a Dutch surname. What is the origin, the meaning and the correct spelling?

As a young boy, I recall having asked my grandfather whether the family's surname is spelt Van Dort or van Dort. His answer was quick as he said that it is spelt van Dort. I know of  others who write it as Van Dort. 

The  correct spelling makes it even more difficult in these times as the names in our national personal identification papers are written in capitals throughout. Hence, over time, van Dort becomes a forgone arguement.

In typical Dutch spelling it would be van Dort. This is attested from various reference sources 
on the matter of how Dutch names are spelt. 

Being offshore Dutch descendants, a Malaysian Van Dort might want to know the origins of the family surname. First, I shall first refer to a source that says :

"DORT - Netherlands: see Dordrecht."

and upon referring to Dordrecht, it goes on to say:

"DORDRECHT - dôrˈdrĕkht or Dortdôrt, city (1994 pop. 113,394), South Holland prov., SW Netherlands, at the point where the Lower Merwede divides to form the Noord and Oude Maas (Old Meuse) rivers. An important rail junction and river port, it has shipyards and manufactures heavy machinery and chemicals. Founded in the early 11th cent., Dordrecht was the scene (1572) of the meeting of the Estates of Holland that proclaimed William the Silent stadtholder. Dordrecht has a 14th-century Gothic church (Groote Kerk) and an art museum."
Unquote: http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/dort.jsp

Hold that in memory for a moment as the name van needs to be explained.
"Van is a preposition in the Dutch language meaning 'of' or 'from'."

Hence, Van Dort would mean "of Dort (Dordrecht)" or "from Dort (Dordrecht)".

You may find further readings on this at :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_(Dutch)
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=3770

In another interesting contribution from Ms. Mascha Van Dort at her Genealogy of the families Van Dort, she explained as follows:

"The family van Dort from The Netherlands is probably not one family. It is more likely that several families moved away from Dordrecht, also called Dordt, at a certain period of time. When they settled down in a new city they were called van Dort, which could mean from Dordt or from Dordrecht.
A genealogist, who looked into the family Schot, a family which is closely related to the family van Dort in Bergen op Zoom, claims to have found evidence that the family van Dort from Bergen op Zoom, originally came from Dordrecht. We didn't find evidence in Bergen op Zoom to support this theory yet, but it is very well possible.

In the Netherlands of the 17th century people with the name van Dort could be found in various cities: Bergen op Zoom and Rotterdam, Utrecht, the Beemster, Gorinchem and The Hague, Delft and Rijswijk and Amsterdam and Muiden. There is no connection yet established between the people in the several cities. In the 18th and 19th century people with the name van Dort were spread all over The Netherlands and Sri Lanka. And in the 19th and 20th century people with the name van Dort were spread over the whole world: the US, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany, England and Belgium." 
Unquote: http://www.van-dort.org/

Note that in the above, Ms. Mascha spells the surname as van Dort. However, as she proceeds futher into her Genealogy she mentions, "But there were two separate Dutch families of V/van Dorts that founded the Sri Lankan chapter of V/van Dorts".

Herein it seems essential that there is a distinct genealogy difference for a van Dort and a Van Dort.

"It is said that in the Netherlands, names starting with 'van', the 'v' is written in lower case. In Belgium the 'V' is always capitalized. The same usage holds for Afrikaans."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_(Dutch)

The present families Van Dort in Malaysia are 7th or 8th generation from Cornelius Jansz Van Dort  was born in Utrecht and sailed on board the vessel "De Bellois" to Ceylon and lived in Ceylong from 1700-1749. (DBU Journal Vol 1 page 39) Source: http://www.happy.demon.nl/vandort/wwwged/p618.htm

In the Genealogy papers on the Internet, Cornelius J. Van Dort and all his children surnames are spelt as Van Dort.

After more than 200 years, it is impossible to know whether it is van or Van. It does not make a difference anymore today although when one thinks further abour it, a v would indicate Dutch aristocracy whereas a V would not.

E & OE