# Dutch, do you get annoyed by your country being referred to as "Holland"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077 "2018-03-23T16:13:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/1 "2018-03-23T16:13:49Z")
Holland being just a component part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, yet certainly in the UK and as far as I can tell, also in most English speaking countries the term is interchangeable. To me it sounds like if people were to refer to Sean Connery as an English actor, because he’s from the UK, but I’m wondering if it irritates any Dutch? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/2 "2018-03-23T16:51:53Z")
A close friend of ours is Dutch and refers to home as “Holland”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/3 "2018-03-23T16:55:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A close friend of ours is Dutch and refers to home as “Holland”. Presumably, he does live in Holland though. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/4 "2018-03-23T16:58:49Z")
Sean Connery is from the UK, but he’s a Scottish actor. Or was that your point? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/5 "2018-03-23T17:16:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sean Connery is from the UK, but he’s a Scottish actor. Apparently, that’s what irritates the Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/6 "2018-03-23T17:19:13Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Apparently, that’s what irritates the Dutch. I don’t know whether it does or not, it wasn’t a loaded question, just genuine curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/7 "2018-03-23T17:40:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Sean Connery is from the UK, but he’s a Scottish actor. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Apparently, that’s what irritates the Dutch. The fact that Sean Connery is from Scotland, in (for now) the UK, irritates the Dutch??? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/8 "2018-03-23T18:21:47Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > To me it sounds like if people were to refer to Sean Connery as an English actor, because he’s from the UK, but I’m wondering if it irritates any Dutch? > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > The fact that Sean Connery is from Scotland, in (for now) the UK, irritates the Dutch??? 😕 That’s how it reads to me. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/9 "2018-03-23T18:36:58Z")
Nobody is honestly confused by the OP’s question, are they? Because I’d be interested in the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/10 "2018-03-23T18:38:53Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Holland being just a component part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, yet certainly in the UK and as far as I can tell, also in most English speaking countries the term is interchangeable. To me it sounds like if people were to refer to Sean Connery as an English actor, because he’s from the UK, but I’m wondering if it irritates any Dutch? The difference in case of Scotland is it’s a different nation than England within the UK. Holland, even assuming it can’t simultaneously be the name of a region in the Netherlands and also a legitimate alternative name for the whole Netherlands, doesn’t refer to a different nation or people. AFAIK Holland is a valid alternative informal name for the Netherlands. I’m not Dutch but I lived there for a bit and IME Dutch themselves will sometimes refer to the whole country as Holland especially when speaking English. OK though that was in (Zuid) Holland; wikipedia says some people from other parts of the country object to that usage, though I’ve never heard that personally. In general people from the UK IME are more sensitive to name variation of their country/countries than most other places, maybe because of the history of English domination of the British Isles by force (aka ‘union’) and tendency toward separatism in the last century or so. The UK is largely England population, politics and economy-wise. It’s not really that wildly incorrect when Americans sometimes refer to the UK as England. It will become a complete joke to correct that if Scotland finally breaks away. But sure, it’s outright incorrect to refer to notable Scots as English, and more often lately they don’t really want to be called British either. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/11 "2018-03-23T18:58:39Z")
The OP should be addressed to Netherland Walloons. And I wonder if anyone in that country objects to being called “Dutch.” According to Wikipedia, “Dutch” are “a Germanic ethnic group native to the Netherlands.” ---
**Author:** ![yellow\_sausage\_bandit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yellow_sausage_bandit/32/394_2.png) [@yellow\_sausage\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellow_sausage_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/12 "2018-03-23T20:01:11Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The OP should be addressed to Netherland Walloons. And I wonder if anyone in that country objects to being called “Dutch.” According to Wikipedia, “Dutch” are “a Germanic ethnic group native to the Netherlands.” Uh, Walloons are Belgian 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/13 "2018-03-23T20:10:44Z")
> [@yellow\_sausage\_bandit](#): > > Uh, Walloons are Belgian 😉 Oops, I was totally thinking of ethnic divisions in Belgium. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/14 "2018-03-23T20:50:56Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Presumably, he does live in Holland though. Nope. She’s from the Groningen Province in the northeast part of The Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/15 "2018-03-23T21:02:43Z")
I typically say I’m from Holland when asked, which technically is true as well, but I think most people use it interchangeably (with the Netherlands) anyway. As far as I’m concerned, all people from the other provinces should be thankful to be associated with us. There really isn’t much worthwile in the rest of the country;). ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/16 "2018-03-23T21:34:05Z")
When I lived there, I found that people distinguished between ‘Nederland’ and ‘Holland’ when speaking Dutch, but when speaking English, they were apt to use ‘Holland’ as the name of the country, (but also used ‘the Netherlands’ at times). But that was a long time ago, and things could well have changed. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/17 "2018-03-23T21:44:37Z")
When I lived there, the Dutch I knew also made a point to differentiate between North and South Holland provinces and the Netherlands. However as mentioned in other posts they are used to other people calling it Holland so I don’t think they are offended by it but mentioning the Netherlands to them instead of Holland will get you more respect. On the same token, there is United States and America with a similar designation Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/18 "2018-03-23T21:57:13Z")
As somebody who lives in New York but doesn’t live in New York City, I can understand the annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/19 "2018-03-23T22:21:08Z")
I lived in the province of Limburg as a teenager, and I never heard anyone call it Holland. I refer to the nation as the Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077/20 "2018-03-24T00:03:38Z")
My above-mentioned friend has lived in the US for some 60 years and probably refers to it as Holland after dealing with 60 years of American ignorance of Europe. “Neither Lands? Whassat?” “Um…Holland?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-do-you-get-annoyed-by-your-country-being-referred-to-as-holland/811077.md?page=2)