Schoonmaker

Schoonmaker is a Dutch-language occupational surname meaning “cleaner” or “launderer.” The name derives from schoon, meaning clean, and maker, meaning maker, originally describing a person who performed cleaning or laundry work. In medieval Dutch society, occupational surnames like Schoonmaker were commonly adopted and passed down to descendants.

Today, Schoonmaker is found in the Netherlands and among Dutch diaspora communities, particularly in North America, where bearers may be descended from Dutch emigrants. The spelling remains standard in most contexts, with occasional variations arising from migration and transliteration.

Notable people with the surname include Thelma Schoonmaker (born 1940), an American film editor and longtime collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese. She has won multiple Academy Awards for editing and is regarded as a prominent figure in contemporary cinema. The surname is principally recognized internationally through her career in film, but it also persists as a common Dutch occupational surname in its original form.