[throw_pm23]

Yes, I guess in most of Europe the 200-250 years between Rembrandt and van Gogh is exactly when family names solidified from a simple description "the one from village X" or "son of Y" or "the one with a red hair" to become a hereditary name essentially detached from its meaning.

[seszett]

Also, van Gogh's popularity came from France, the work he did in France, and in France by this time family names had been standard there for a long time already (since around the 16th century), much earlier than in the Netherlands.

[saalweachter]

Specifically, in 1811 Napoleon made surnames mandatory for the Dutch.

A number of Dutch, displeased with Napoleon and thinking the surname thing wouldn't last, took... unfortunate surnames.