Genealogical terms

This page lists some Dutch words that appear frequently in genealogical records and publications.

Dutch term English translation
Achternaam Family name
Begraven, begr. Burried
Beroep Occupation (see the Occupations page for a list of Dutch occupations and their translations)
Bevolkingsregister Approx: Census record (although the ‘bevolkingsregister’ was kept up to date)
Burgerlijke stand Civil Registration
Doodgeboren Stillborn
Doop, ged. Baptized
en and
Familienaam Family name
Geboorteakte Birth record (civil registration)
Geboren, geb. Born
Geen … vermeld No … mentioned
Gemeente Municipality
Huwelijk, huw. Marriage
Huwelijksakte Marriage record (civil registratoin)
Huwelijksbijlagen Appendices to the marriage record
Jaar, jaren Years
Leeftijd Age
Memorie van successie Death duties files, estate tax
naar (+town name) to
Nagelaten Literally: "Left behind", meaning the other person died. For example: "nagelaten zoon van Jan Jansen" means "son left behind by Jan Jansen", the son of the late Jan Jansen.
Ondertrouw, otr. Publication of the banns, usually about 3 weeks before the actual marriage
Overleden, ovl. Died
Overlijdensakte Death record (civil registration)
Plaats Town
Provincie Province
Register van naamsaanneming Register of name taking
te (+ town name) in
Trouwt, tr. Marries
Tussenvoegsel Prefix (like "van", "de", etc.)
van of
van (+ town name) from
Vondeling Abandoned child
Voornaam First name
Voorvoegsel Prefix (like "van", "de", etc.)
About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

Comments

  1. Mike Warham says

    Hello!
    I’m seeing ‘certificaat van onvermogen’ on marriage records which Google translate says is “certificate of inability” – this doesn’t quite make sense as a literal translation? I’m guessing its like the banns in UK, permission to marry?

  2. judith workman says

    Hello, I see the term or phrase van der Standes instead of a name in some of the records for my early Dutch ancestors. For example in baptism records, the Father, children and witnesses are named in the record. The index lists the Father and children but Mother’s name shows up as van der Standes. I’ve seen this in a few different records now so I know it’s not referring to the person’s name. The translation is from or of the Standes but that’s not making much sense either.

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