Ned Flanders’ last name is the English language name for a historically Dutch-speaking area of Western Europe that is now largely part of Belgium. Other than the fact that Ned Flanders’ parents had some nonstandard child-rearing attitudes, I don’t recall much being said about his family background. Is there any indication that he is supposed to be of Flemish and/or Belgian background? If not, where could his ancestors have gotten the name Flanders?
I don’t remember it ever being discussed. We do know that the family is spread far and wide across the globe, but I don’t think we know where they came from.
Flanders indicates a Flemish ancestry, but it is an English name - the last meaningfully Flemish of Flanders’ ancestors would most likely have lived hundreds of year ago, and the ones who moved to America would most likely have been English in every meaningful way, as would their ancestors, going back centuries.
FWIW, Flanders is a street in Portland, Oregon, the source for many of the Simpson character names (along with Kearney, Lovejoy, Quimby, Van Houten, etc.).
That’s what I was thinking, that his ancestors may have been Flemish people who moved to England at some point in the past, then settled in the US or what would eventually become the US.
Matt Groening named a lot of his characters after streets and places around where he grew up in Portland. There is indeed a Flanders Street there.
Well okily dokily then.
The Flanders name may have been Americanized at Ellis Island. Uh…doogilly.
You know who else was Belgian?
Or at least, raised by Belgians? Dr. Evil.
Flanders and swan!
On one of the DVD commentaries I think says there was a NE Flanders Street and people would sometimes spraypaint a D on there to make it Ned Flanders.
Interesting; I’ve wondered whether Milhouse’s name was meant as some weird allusion to Sharon Van Houten of the Manson family. This makes more sense.
Stupid NE Flanders Street!
I figured it was Milhous and was a tribute to President Nixon.
Richard Nixon was in the Manson Family?? 
One of the writers came up with it. It’s not a Portland Street. The other examples are correct, though.
That one is just a coincidence then, the Wikipedia article for the Northwest Portland district does mention Van Houten, which is in the North Portland district, separated from the other “Simpsons streets” in Northwest Portland.
Actually, most of those streets run throughout the city. Flanders Streets runs through both NE and NW Portland. In general, numbered streets run north-south, named streets run E-W. Van Houten is one of those weird diagonal streets.
Richard Milhous Nixon, or am I being whooshed?
I’m guessing from the main island of Britain. Flanders once introduced a relative from his old country. The old man was in tweeds, a hat like an out-sized deer stalker, smoking a twice-bent pipe and had to stammer “Okili-dockili.”
No idea.