Naming Conventions

According to Dutch law, each citizen has one or multiple first names, along with a family name.

Family names with “van” refer to toponyms – i.e. “Van Buren” (“of Buren”)

Names ending in -sen are patronymics i.e. “Jansen” (“son of Jans”)

Misc.

The Netherlands did not take census every 10 years. Instead, from 1850 on, every municipality was required to use population registers. Population registers were an ongoing registration of every person who lived in the municipality.

In the beginning of the 20th century, municipalities began using one card per family. Shortly before WWII, municipalities switched to one card per person.

Useful Websites

• AlleFriezen
• Amsterdam City Archives
• Delpher – digitized newspapers
• Geneaknowhow – contains links to a number of small websites and databases
• Koninklijke Bibliotheek (1618-1995) – newspaper collection
• Netherlands Centre for Family History – Note: Website is in Dutch
• OpenArch – includes civil records, population registers, church books, military, and notarial records
• Stadsarchief Rotterdam contains church books from 1573-1811 and parts of the civil register from 1811-1950
• Trace Your Dutch Roots contains a wealth of information on Dutch research, a newsletter, and links to a variety of websites
• Wie Was Wie — “Who Was Who”
  • Features millions of records including civil registrations, population registers, church records, statements of succession, and sea voyager registers of the Dutch East India Company