Holland or the Netherlands, both terms are used abroad to indicate our country. The Dutch themselves usually say ‘Nederland’, but we also still use ‘Holland’. What exactly should we say?

Actually, here in Eindhoven you are in the Netherlands. The term Holland formally only means a part of the Netherlands, namely the provinces of North and South Holland.

In colonial days different names were used to refer to the Netherlands. People spoke of the Low Countries, the Republic of the United Provinces, the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of The Netherlands. The name of the Netherlands has existed only since 1839, after the secession from Belgium. Several reasons may be suggested to explain why the term Holland has survived. Custom is one: many sailors sailing the oceans came from the then province of Holland, so the idea sprang up abroad that all people hailing from this region were Hollanders. Another reason is the fact that Holland just appears to sound better than the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, too, we still use both names. Just think of Holland’s got talent, the Holland cuisine and the Holland Handbook.

And to confuse matters even more: the language spoken in the Netherlands is called ‘Dutch’. Which abroad is often confused with ‘Deutsch’, although originally it is derived from ‘Diets’, a collective name for the Germanic languages spoken in the former Dutch regions between around 1200 and 1550. (HB)