Red Dead Redemption 2 fans torn over Dutch's real name

It turns out that Dutch’s name in Red Dead Redemption 2 probably isn’t even his real name, and you know what, that makes sense to me.

We’ve got to know Dutch Van Der Linde and his gang over two games in the Red Dead universe now and, love him or hate him, he’s a crucial character in the wider story.

But even with two full games to get to know him, it seems there are some details which are still up in the air, one of those being the mystery of his real name.

It’s a little weird that a character of Dutch ancestry would also be called Dutch by his parents, so it’s pretty clear that this is just a fake name.

Considering his status as a notorious outlaw too, it makes sense that he’d revert to using this name.

This is also what Red Dead Redemption 2 fans have theorised, and have chalked it up to some awkward writing by Rockstar Games that is too late to retcon.

“I think it’s a mystery because the devs didn’t think this far ahead tbh,” reads one comment on the Red Dead Redemption 2 Reddit page. “See: Irish.”

“Why would you name your son your home country’s name,” another fan quipped. “I have never heard of an American Johnson.”

“I think it’s because he’s Dutch and people gave him the nickname because of it,” a third agreed. “My friend's father in law is called Scotty. Guess where he’s from. lol people aren’t that original.”

Some comments seem to believe that Dutch’s real name is Daniel, however this hasn’t been proven in any official sources and seems to originate from the “Made Up Characters” wiki, a website seemingly dedicated to just making up lies, which I believe speaks for itself.

With Red Dead Redemption 3 not being entirely confirmed, it’s possible we’ll never really know what Dutch’s real name is. It’ll just be one of those mysteries we’ll continue debating until the end of time itself.