Klaas
Klaas is a Dutch male given and surname. It is the Dutch short form of Nicholas, a Greek name ultimately meaning victory of the people. A traditionally common name in the Netherlands, its popularity declined some 20-fold since 1950. Archaic spellings include Claas and Claes. Among its female derivatives are Klaasje, Clasien, Clasina, Clasine, Clazien, Klasien, Klasina and Klaziena. Klaas also exists as a patronymic surname, though the forms Klaasen, Klaassen, Claassen, Claessen, and Claessens are more common.
Notable persons whose given name is Klaas
- Klaas, Khoikhoi guide to the explorer François Le Vaillant, who named Klaas's cuckoo after him
- Klaas Afrikaner, Nama captain of the Orlam Afrikaners
- Klaas Annink, Dutch serial killer
- Klaas Bakker, Dutch footballer
- Klaas Balk, Dutch cyclist
- Klaas van Berkel, Dutch historian of science
- Klaas de Boer, Dutch-born American soccer player
- Klaas Bolt, Dutch organist and improviser
- Klaas Bom, Dutch engineer
- Klaas Breeuwer, Dutch footballer
- Klaas van den Broek, Dutch ice hockey player
- Klaas Bruinsma, Dutch translator to West Frisian
- Klaas Bruinsma, Dutch drug baron
- Klaas Buchly, Dutch cyclist
- Klaas Carel Faber, Dutch WWII war criminal
- Klaas Dijkhoff, Dutch politician and legal scholar
- Klaas Gerling, German DJ known as "Klaas"
- Klaas de Groot, Dutch bioengineer
- Klaas Gubbels, Dutch painter and sculptor
- Klaas Hendrikse, Dutch atheist pastor
- Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, German television host
- Klaas van der Horst, Dutch Mennonite teacher and minister
- Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dutch footballer
- Klaas Knot, Dutch economist and central banker
- Klaas Kruik, Dutch cartographer and meteorologist better known as Cruquius
- Klaas Lodewyck, Belgian cyclist
- Klaas van der Meulen, Dutch glass painter
- , Dutch organist, pianist, and conductor
- , Dutch racing cyclist
- Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk, Dutch cricketer
- Klaas Nuninga, Dutch footballer
- Klaas Ooms, Dutch footballer
- Klaas Jan Pen, Dutch sports shooter
- Klaas Plantinga, Dutch distiller
- Klaas Reimer, Prussian mennonite
- Klaas Runia, Dutch theologian and journalist
- Klaas Rusticus, Dutch author and television and film director
- Klaas Schilder, Dutch theologian and professor
- Klaas Sijtsma, Dutch psychologist
- Klaas Smit, Dutch footballer
- Klaas Sybrandi, Dutch Mennonite minister
- Klaas Sys, Belgian cyclists
- Klaas Twisk, Dutch racing driver
- Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
- Klaas Veenhof, Dutch Assyriologist
- Klaas Veering, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
- Klaas Vermeulen, Dutch field hockey player
- Klaas de Vries (disambiguation), multiple people
- Klaas de Waard, alias of Aart Alblas, Dutch navy officer and resistance member
- , Dutch legal scholar and politician
- Klaas Woldendorp, Dutch sports shooter
- Klaas Worp, Dutch papyrologist
- Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer and an Olympic medalist
Claas
- Claas Epp, Jr., Russian Mennonite minister
- Claas Hugo Humbert, German scientist and writer
Fiction
- Klaas Vaak is the traditional Dutch name for the Sandman
Notable persons whose surname is Klaas
- C. J. Klaas, American soccer defensive midfielder
- Kathrin Klaas, German hammer thrower
- Masabata Klaas, South African cricketer
- Polly Klaas, American murder victim
- Urmas Klaas, is Estonian politician
- Werner Klaas, German footballer