# Why are Hollanders/Netherlands natives called "Dutch"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815 "2008-09-30T04:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/21 "2008-10-01T13:33:58Z")
> [@Gotterfunken](#): > > How do the Dutch feel about English-speakers calling their entire country “Holland” instead of the Netherlands? Do the ones from the states outside Holland consider it an ignorant or offensive term, in the way that many Scots would react (appropriately, in my opinion) to someone grouping “Scotland” under “England”? I’ve been to Holland many times. 🙂 I have yet to find a Dutch person who didn’t speak English. They all enjoy practising their English with me - and never correct me when I say ‘Holland’. 🆒 Some anecdotes: - I used to ask at Amsterdam station for a one-way ticket to Beverwijk in English; they would tell me the price in English. Once I learnt by heart the Dutch for ‘single ticket to Beverwijk’. When I reached the ticket window and spoke my piece, without hesitating they told me the price in English! :eek: - there’s a chess opening variation named after a town in Holland (Scheveningen). In conversation with a Dutch family I mentioned this. They just looked blank. When I spelt it, they laughed and pronounced it with an indescribable guttural throat noise. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/22 "2008-10-01T14:24:26Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I have yet to find a Dutch person who didn’t speak English. My grandparents don’t speak English. PM me next time you come over so I can introduce you to some genuine non-Englishspeaking Dutch 😃 > [@glee](#): > > I used to ask at Amsterdam station for a one-way ticket to Beverwijk in English; they would tell me the price in English. > Once I learnt by heart the Dutch for ‘single ticket to Beverwijk’. When I reached the ticket window and spoke my piece, without hesitating they told me the price in English! I actually think this is pretty rude, I wish we didn’t do that so much. Most foreigners here don’t bother investing in the Dutch language the least bit, but those that do should at least be replied to in (simple, slowly pronounced) Dutch. This never happens, though, and many expats I know complain bitterly that they’re never going to learn Dutch if the Dutch won’t let them practice. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/23 "2008-10-01T15:11:28Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Nitpick: The Flemish Language is called ‘Vlaams’, not Vlaamings; a Flemish person is called Vlaming, (pl. -en). Thanks for the correction. I was given “Vlaamings” for the language by sources I thought reliable; I was misinformed. (I came here for the waters, anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/24 "2008-10-01T15:18:58Z")
> [@](#): > > by Švejk > there’s plenty of hookers and dope outside Amsterdam, just not as much tourists. You finally got to the important information! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/25 "2008-10-01T15:31:57Z")
Made me think; Ned Nederlander (Martin Short’s character in _The Three Amigos_) Ned Flanders (from _The Simpsons_) Coincidence? I think not! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/26 "2008-10-01T18:22:20Z")
**Švejk** , this may be as good a place as any to ask; where did you learn to write English so well? You _are_ native Dutch, right? Please tell me it isn’t just highschool English. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/27 "2008-10-01T20:44:08Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > **Švejk** , this may be as good a place as any to ask; where did you learn to write English so well? You _are_ native Dutch, right? Please tell me it isn’t just highschool English. **Maastricht** , I always heard that most Limburgers didn’t consider themselves all that Dutch, identifying more with the Germans or the Belgians. One Limburger of my acquantance informed me that she didn’t even celebrate the Queen’s birthday, as that was an activity for _Hollanders_! Can you weigh in on that one? Dank U wel! ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/28 "2008-10-01T21:02:14Z")
> [@Gotterfunken](#): > > How do the Dutch feel about English-speakers calling their entire country “Holland” instead of the Netherlands? Do the ones from the states outside Holland consider it an ignorant or offensive term, in the way that many Scots would react (appropriately, in my opinion) to someone grouping “Scotland” under “England”? Not really. While the official - and more popular - name is “Nederland” (the Netherlands), “Holland” is commonly used too, especially when football (soccer for you Americans) is involved. I guess because it’s easier to shout. Part of the reason may be that the North- and South-Holland provinces (together with Utrecht) are quite influential culturally. Another part may be that the name “Holland” isn’t commonly seen as denoting any particular region (probably because there isn’t a single “Holland” province). ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/29 "2008-10-01T21:04:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > One Limburger of my acquantance informed me that she didn’t even celebrate the Queen’s birthday, as that was an activity for _Hollanders_! I don’t know anybody who celebrates the Queen’s birthday on the day. Quite a lot of people celebrate Queensday, though - but that 1. Isn’t actually celebrated on the queen’s birthday 2. Involves gigantic amounts of booze, drugs, noise, selling whatever crap you’ve got laying around in the attic and lots of tourists. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/30 "2008-10-01T21:10:18Z")
> [@Flander](#): > > Indecently, I am of absolutely NO help in this thread. :smack: Well Ned, no one here thought you would! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/31 "2008-10-01T23:35:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Because language is not required to be consistent. Unlike **[Hollandaise sauce](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollandaise_sauce)**. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/32 "2009-01-20T14:45:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **Maastricht** , I always heard that most Limburgers didn’t consider themselves all that Dutch, identifying more with the Germans or the Belgians. > > One Limburger of my acquantance informed me that she didn’t even celebrate the Queen’s birthday, as that was an activity for _Hollanders_! > > Can you weigh in on that one? > > Dank U wel! Im from Maastricht as well,(the city not the Doper) so maybe I can help The southen provences are mostly Catholic, so they celebrate carnaval, which involves a lot of drinking, partying and dressing up in colourfull clothing. The Northern provinces are Protestant and not aloud the celbrate carnival, so they use queensday to have their own party, involving drinking partying and dressing up in colourful clothing (only orange but still), and being born traders they added freemarkets, Some Limburgers celebrate queensday, but the most of us have a hangover from carnival “Graag gedaan” ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/33 "2009-01-20T16:39:28Z")
I enjoy the fact that there’s a region of the Earth known as “The Netherlands.” I imagine a vast, swampy forest populated by trolls and pixies. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/34 "2009-01-20T17:54:12Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I enjoy the fact that there’s a region of the Earth known as “The Netherlands.” I imagine a vast, swampy forest populated by trolls and pixies. I used to play a RPG game that had a underworld where all the deamons and the dead lived called: “The Netherlands”..not sure if it was a D&D setting ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/35 "2009-01-20T19:04:09Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > (The national borders do not precisely mirror the linguistic ones, by the way; along the Belgian border in the extreme northwest of France are about a million speakers of Flemish.) One million? I guess yet another massive exaggeration by enthusiast supporters of the local language. Flemish is almost extinct in France. They must count everybody whose grandmother once used a Flemish word.. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/36 "2009-01-20T19:12:39Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Sort of the opposite of us using America to mean just the United States. Well of all the countries in the AmericaS, the United States is officially the United States of America. Other countries don’t use the word America in their name. So it makes sense to use America to refer to the United States OF America. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/37 "2009-01-20T19:14:36Z")
Also why “The Czech Republic.” Why not Czechland or Czechia? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/38 "2009-01-20T21:09:59Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Also why “The Czech Republic.” Why not Czechland or Czechia? The Czech government has tried to popularize [Czechia,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_the_Czech_Republic) with some success in other languages such as French, Russian, and German. For some reason, though, it hasn’t caught on in English yet. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/39 "2009-01-20T21:34:00Z")
Because they never pay for their dates’ dinners. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815/40 "2009-01-20T22:03:49Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I enjoy the fact that there’s a region of the Earth known as “The Netherlands.” I imagine a vast, swampy forest populated by trolls and pixies. Not to be confused with the Nether regions, although sometimes not different by so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hollanders-netherlands-natives-called-dutch/465815.md?page=3)