The New Dutch Law on Last Names

As of 2024, there is a new law governing the last names of children born in the Netherlands. Parents already had the option to chose either the mother's or the father's name. Now they can also choose to give the children both names, either hyphenated or non-hyphenated. Example Let's say Peter Kamphuis and Lotte Ferwerda have a child together, a girl named Emma. They have the following options: Emma Kamphuis Emma Ferwerda Emma Kamphuis Ferwerda Emma Kamphuis-Ferwerda Emma … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Arrest

The Dutch word arrest can have different meanings: a verdict of a higher court the arrest of a person a lien against goods. You will typically come across the term in court records or police records. … [Read more...]

Dutch Genealogy News for January 2024

Here is an overview of the new sources and other news that was announced in the past month. Sources Gelderland birth records 1913-1922 have been digitized and indexed and are now availble via the Gelders Archief. Registers of mortgages from the districts of Arnhem and Zutphen 1818-1838 have been digitized. The records can be consulted via the finding aids for Arnhem and Zutphen. The records for the Tiel office were already online. With these new additions, all Gelderland mortgage … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Jaar

Jaar means year. The plural is jaren (years). The singular form jaar is often used in Dutch where English would use the plural. Jaar is more commonly used for a specific number of years and jaren for an unspecified numbers of years, but there are no fixed rules and people do not always follow grammar rules anyway. The easiest to remember is that jaren is always plural and jaar can be either singular or plural. Some common uses: 5 jaar oud - 5 years old In het jaar - in the year … [Read more...]

Dutch records that became public in 2024

Happy New Year everybody! Many records become public after 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 years. Here is an overview of some of the records that became public as of 1 January 2024. Exceptions may exist for records that involve people that could still be alive. Just because records are public does not mean they are immediately available online. Some archives digitize the birth, marriage, and death records immediately, others do not. Some records will be online, some may be ordered via scanning on … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Nieuw

Nieuw is the Dutch word for "new." You may come across the term in place names in Dutch colonies. For example, New York City was once called Nieuw Amsterdam in the colony of Nieuw Nederland (New Netherland). … [Read more...]

Quick tip – What is the Higher Authority?

Try finding out what higher authorities may have created records about your ancestors. A few examples: If you are researching in a specific municipality, check the records of the province to see what records they received from that municipality. If you find a court case, find out what the appellate court was to see if there was an appeal. If your ancestor worked for a school, find out who appointed the teachers. Until recent times, this typically was either the church or the … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Duivekater

A duivekater was a traditional diamond-shaped bread eaten on religious holidays, mainly Christmas. It was often highly decorated. I have sometimes come across the term in deacons' accounts where poor children were given them as a gift. They can also be seen on various paintings from the 1600s. It is not a common word but a fun one to learn on Christmas day. … [Read more...]

Non-unique Place Names in the Netherlands

Most places in the Netherlands have unique names. But there are a few cases where places in different locations have the same name. Other towns have slightly different names today, but used the same names before spelling became standardized. This can cause problems, not just because researchers may search in the wrong place, but also because automated processes may link records to the wrong location. Places that occur in more than one location Alphen (North Brabant), Alphen (Gelderland), … [Read more...]

Dutch term – Onbekend, Niet Bekend

Onbekend means "unknown." Niet bekend means "not known." You may encounter these terms when informants are asked for information they do not possess. For example, in death records, you may see a reference that the names of the parents are not known to the informants. Informants for death registers were often neighbors, who may not have known the deceased's parents. Other records may mention "vader onbekend" [father unknown] if the child is born out of wedlock. For tips on researching those … [Read more...]