Botha
Botha is a common Afrikaans surname, derived from the Friso-Saxon Both.[1] It was brought to South Africa in 1678 by German soldiers who subsequently intermarried with the local Dutch population.[2] Botha roughly translates to "son of the leader" in Middle Dutch.
The progenitors of the extended clan are Frederich Botha (born Wangenheim, Thuringia) and his lover Maria Kickers (born Amsterdam, North Holland).[3] Married in 1714, they later farmed for a living between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.[2] Today, their legal descendants number around 76,125 people,[4] including:
- Adriaan Botha, South African sprinter
- Andre Botha (born 1980), South African bodyboarder
- Andre Botha (born 1975), South African-born Irish cricketer
- Andries Botha, Khoikhoi leader in the Cape Colony
- Anthony Greyvensteyn Botha, South African cricketer
- Arno Botha, South African rugby player
- Bernado Botha, South African rugby player
- Beverly Botha, South African female cricketer
- Brendon James Botha, South African rugby player
- Cornelius Botha, South African politician
- Chrysander Botha, Namibian rugby player
- Danila Botha, South African-born Canadian novelist
- Dewald Botha, South African cricketer
- Dawid Botha, Namibian cricketer
- Francois Botha, South African boxer
- Gary Botha, South African rugby player
- Hannah Botha, South African actress
- Heidi Botha, South African fencer
- Hendrik Egnatius "Naas" Botha, South African rugby player
- Johan Botha (born 1982), South African cricketer
- Johan Botha (born 1974), South African runner
- Johan Botha (born 1965), South African opera singer
- John Philip "Bakkies" Botha, South African rugby player
- Leon Botha, South African artist and progeria victim
- Lukas "Luki" Botha, South African Formula One driver
- Mike Botha, South African-born master diamond cutter
- Mouritz Botha, South African rugby player
- Piet Botha, South African rock musician
- Riaan Botha, South African pole vaulter
- Roelof Botha, South African account, former PayPal chief financial officer
- Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, South African politician and diplomat
- Ruan Botha, South African rugby player
- Sandra Botha, South African diplomat and ambassador
- Stoffel Botha, South African politician
- Theo Botha, South African shareholder activist
- Thozamile Botha, South African politician
- Tom Botha, South African rugby player
- Tyler Botha, South African skeleton racer
- Wendy Botha, South African-born Australian surfer
Descendants of Ferdinandùs Appel
Prior to her marriage to Frederich Botha, Maria Kickers copulated with Ferdinandùs Appel, another Hollander from an Amsterdam family.[2] Appel fathered one child out of wedlock with Maria - Theunis - who was later adopted by the Bothas. His descendants include:[4]
- Louis Botha (1862-1919), first Prime Minister of South Africa, often referred to as "General Botha"
- Pieter Willem "P.W." Botha (1916-2006), South African prime minister from 1978 to 1984 and state president from 1984 to 1989
Other uses
- 1354 Botha, asteroid
- Anna Elizabeth Botha (née Rossouw), former South African first lady
- Blackburn Botha, Royal Air Force reconnaissance aircraft
- Botha, Alberta, Canadian settlement in Alberta
- Botha Sigcau, former President of Transkei
- Botha's Hill, South African settlement in KwaZulu-Natal
- Botha's lark (Spizocorys fringillaris), a South African lark
- Gunther Botha, South African mercenary in Matthew Reilly's Area 7
- Jaapie Botha, fictional SAP officer in the film The Power of One
- Karl Botha, fictional counterfeiter from Pepetela's novels
- Mutro Botha, assassin in the television series Batman Beyond
- Louis Botha Avenue, Johannesburg street
- Regiment Botha, South African Army unit
- SAST General Botha, South African warship