# Holland/The Netherlands

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holland-the-netherlands/39550>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 3, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holland-the-netherlands/39550 "2000-11-03T14:51:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![buffalogal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@buffalogal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buffalogal)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holland-the-netherlands/39550/1 "2000-11-03T14:51:57Z")

</div>

What’s the difference? Why are there two names for the same country?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holland-the-netherlands/39550/2 "2000-11-03T14:57:22Z")

</div>

Saying “Holland” for “The Netherlands” is kind of like saying “England” for “Great Britain”: Lots of people do it, but it’s technically incorrect. Holland is a province (actually, now, it’s two or three provinces) of the Netherlands.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![buffalogal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@buffalogal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buffalogal)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holland-the-netherlands/39550/3 "2000-11-03T15:38:05Z")

</div>

Thanks. I never thought of that.

I consulted an atlas. There are 12 provinces, two of them called “North Holland” and “South Holland.” These are the most populous provinces of The Netherlands, containing the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague.