abstract:Van Arkel was a medieval noble family in the County of Holland founded around 1000 near Arkel and lasting until 1412. Their fief was called Land van Arkel.
Dr. SCHAWINSKI: Yeah, as discoveries usually are named after their discoverer, it has been named after Hanny vanArkel, but instead of calling it Hanny's Object, it quickly became known in our online community as Hanny's Voorwerp - voorwerp simply being the Dutch word for object but it sounds cooler.