Nederlands Hervormd means Dutch Reformed, a protestant religion. You may come across the term in population registers or church records.
The Dutch Reformed church adopted that name in 1816. Before that, it was known as Nederduits Gereformeerd [Nederdutch Reformed]. There are many other protestant religions that split off from the main Dutch Reformed church, including Gereformeerd [Christian Reformed].
Tower of the Dutch Reformed Church, Ezinge. Credits: Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, photo 021077 (CC-BY-SA)
About Yvette Hoitink
Mijn moeder was Nederlands Hervormd (zo ben ik dus ook gedoopt) en dat is toch echt iets anders dan GEREFORMEERD; dat laatste noemden ze bij ons op het eiland “de zwarte kousjes kerk”, omdat ze daar zo streng waren. Dat zijn echt 2 compleet verschillende geloven.
I explained in the article how the different churches split off from each other. They are different streams of the same faith and have origins in the same church.
I assume that the same would’ve applied in South Africa? It makes so much more sense now in understanding why certain of our records go from “Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk” to Hervormde Kerk and Gereformeerde Kerk over the years
I do not know whether the churches in South Africa retained ties with the Netherlands motherchurch after the English took over, but that could well have happened. I am not an expert in South African research.