Reading Dutch Records

Daniel R. Jones, MS, AG

®

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READING DUTCH RECORDS

• Given names: In English they are considered first and middle names. These are usually

based off the name of a saint, though some areas may have unusual given names.

• Patronym: Much more common throughout the country until the early 1800s, they persisted

in the north through the mid-1800s. A patronym is a name derived from the father that is not

considered part of the given name, and usually ends in -s, -se, -zoon, or -dochter

(sometimes abbreviated as -dr). Thus, person named Jan could have children with the

patronym Jans, Janse, Janszoon, etc. Some surnames originally were patronyms.

• Tussenvoegsel: This descriptive element is usually glued onto the surname in English, but in

Dutch it is a separate element. The most common tussenvoegsels are van, van der, and

de, but there are others. In the Netherlands, they are not capitalized; in Belgium, they are.

For a helpful guide in pronouncing Dutch consonants and vowels, including voice clips of

examples, see the following website: https://www.heardutchhere.net/EasyDutch.html

Dutch sentence structure is different from English. The first verb is the second part (concept) of

“Today Jan de Jong had appeared at city hall before me the registrar.” would be written in

Dutch word order, “Today had Jan de Jong at city hall before me the registrar appeared.”

Tepee rule: the long vowel sound carries over one consonant (and one vowel can be dropped),

making a tepee over the consonant, but it cannot be carried over two consonants. Examples:

• Adriaan / Adrianus

• Neeltje / Cornelia

If a name has a short vowel sound, it requires two consonants. Examples:

• Jan / Jannetje

• stop / stoppen

Diminutives and nicknames are very common in the Netherlands, particularly in Protestant

areas. They are not common in Belgium. A diminutive is a form of a name that indicates

familiarity or endearment; think of the nicknames Bobby for Robert or Danny for Daniel.

Diminutives and nicknames are very common as given names, and the name may appear

differently in different records. Diminuitives are most commonly found in records for females,

adding a -je or a -tje (examples: Joanna = Jannetje; Petronella = Pietje). For both diminutives

and nicknames, usually one (sometimes two) syllables of the name are used, and the tepee rule

above is often invoked. Examples:

• Magdalena or Helena = Leentje

o Reading Dutch Marriage Records

o Reading Dutch Death Records

• Dutch Genealogical Word List – see “key words” section for most commonly used words

• Recorded classes and webinars; type in “Netherlands” and look in the section Lessons.

These videos can be downloaded and usually come with downloadable handouts.

Click on Groups, then type in the country of interest (Netherlands). Then Join the group. Here

Image Only Historical Records, and click view all, to find the collection for your province.

Choose the province then collection of interest. Make sure to Browse Images – all “indexed”

collections are very incomplete. Navigate to the municipality or parish, then choose your record

type and time period. For church records, you may have to choose the religion of interest before

the parish.

Check out the following indexed collections for help in locating and viewing records:

• OpenArch.nl

• WieWasWie.nl

• FamilySearch.org

cards, and can be organized by surname, patronym, or both.

• For church record indexes, try searching, in Dutch, for the word Klapper or Index, followed

by the record type (dopen, trouwen, or begraven) and the name of the parish.

READING CIVIL REGISTRATION RECORDS

Each civil registration record typically includes the name, age, occupation, and residence of the

individuals who appear in the record.

When reading a foreign-language document, a good method of interpreting the document is to:

1. Identify names

2. Identify dates

Dutch civil registration birth records typically include:

• Two dates: registration date (at the top of the record) and birth date (within the record)

• Informant (usually father or midwife)

• Mother

• Child

• Witnesses (usually two males)

Dutch civil registration marriage records typically include:

• Multiple dates: marriage date (at the top of the record) and banns dates (within the record)

• Groom and bride

• Birthplaces of the groom and bride

• Parents of the groom and bride

• Any previous spouses

• Witnesses (usually four males) and relationship to the groom or bride, if any

• Witnesses (usually two males)

READING CHURCH RECORDS

(burials), and lidmaten (list of parish members).

Dutch baptism records typically include:

• Name of the baptized

• Date of baptism, and sometimes date of birth

• Name of the parents, or at least the father

• Names of witnesses/godparents