Venter or Venters is an Afrikaans (and rarely, Jewish) surname, and may refer to:

Venter

* AJ Venter (b. 1973), South African rugby union footballer *

Al J Venter Al J. Venter (born Albertus Johannes Venter, 25 November 1938) is a South African war journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author of more than forty books who also served as an Africa and Middle East correspondent for ''Jane's International D ...

(b. 1938), author *

André Venter André Gerhardus Venter (born 14 November 1970 in Vereeniging, South Africa) is a former South African rugby union footballer who earned 66 caps playing for the South Africa national team during the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He repres ...

(b. 1970), South African rugby union footballer * Ben Venter (b. 1987), South African rugby union footballer * Bill Venter (b. 1934), South African businessman *

Brendan Venter Brendan Venter (born 29 December 1969) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. Venter played at Centre (rugby union), centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He p ...

(b. 1969), South African rugby union footballer *

Christoffel Venter Major-General Christoffel 'Boetie' Venter , (1 November 189220 February 1977) was a South African military commander. Military career He joined the 7 Mounted Rifles in 1912 then the 5 SAMR in August 1914 for service in South West Africa. ...

(1892–1977), South African military commander *

Craig Venter John Craig Venter (born October 14, 1946) is an American scientist. He is known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and led the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. Venter founded Celera Geno ...

(b. 1946), American biologist and businessman * Danny Venter (b. 1987), South African association football player *

F.A. Venter Francois Alwyn (Frans) Venter (27 November 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a prominent Afrikaans writer of the 20th century. His novels explored biblical religious themes, or cultural identities in the South African context. He also examined relations ...

(1916–1997), Afrikaans writer *

Floris Venter Floris Venter (born 7 May 1886, date of death unknown) was a South African cyclist. He competed in five events at the 1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were ...

(1886–unknown), South African cyclist * Francois Venter (b. 1991), South African rugby union footballer * Hanco Venter (b. 1993), South African rugby union footballer * Henco Venter (b. 1992), South African rugby union footballer *

Jacobus Johannes Venter Jacobus Johannes Venter (1814–1889) was a South African (Boer) statesman. He was a member of the Volksraad of the Orange Free State, chairman of the Joint Commission for Administering the Government in 1855 and served as Acting State Pr ...

(1814–1889), South African Boer political figure * Jan Venter (b. 1988), South African swimmer * Kyle Venter (b. 1991), American soccer player * Mariella Venter (b. 2000), South African swimmer * Orla Venter (b. 1976), Namibian long jumper *

Rina Venter Elizabeth Hendrina Venter (; born 9 December 1938), known as Rina Venter, was the Minister of National Health and Population Development of South Africa, from 1989 to 1994. Venter graduated from Pretoria University and was a social worker for ...

(b. 1938), South African Minister of Heath from 1989 to 1994 * Ruan Venter (b. 1992), South African rugby union footballer *

Shaun Venter Shaun Harold Venter (born 16 March 1987 in Witbank) is a South African rugby union player for Rodez Rugby in the French Rugby FEDERALE 3 He is a utility back, having started matches at full-back, centre, winger and scrum-half, but since 2011 ...

(b. 1987), South African rugby union footballer * Walter Venter (b. 1984), South African rugby union footballer

Venters

* Alex Venters (1913–1959), Scottish footballer * Jock Venters (1910–1978), Scottish footballer * Jonny Venters (b. 1985), American baseball player

Places

* ''Venter'', the Hungarian name for Vintere village, Holod Commune, Bihor County, Romania * Venter, Virginia, United States *

Ventersdorp Ventersdorp is a town of about 4,200 people in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. It was the seat of the defunct Ventersdorp Local Municipality until 2016. Ventersdorp is centrally located, making it easi ...

, North West Province, South Africa

Origin

The commonly accepted origin of the surname finds its roots in the Netherlands, however due to poor record-keeping there are doubts whether or not this is true. During the Church Reformation, the persecuted were known to board ships bound for far-off lands (South Africa being one with its recent establishment as a trading post for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and their representative Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. During these escapes names were often changed, thus muddying the water. One disputing theory is that Venter does not derive from the Dutch ''"Van Deventer"'' , but rather from the French ''"Fender"'' as Huguenots sought refuge in the new settlement in the mid- to late 17th century. There are still many missing links in the genealogy of the Venter family.

Venter

Venters

Places

Origin

See also