Noord-Holland is a province in the north-west of the Netherlands. It borders on the IJsselmeer, Utrecht and Flevoland in the east, Utrecht and Zuid-Holland in the south, and the North Sea on the west and north.
The capital city of Noord-Holland is Haarlem. The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, is also situated in Noord-Holland. Other larger towns are:
- Alkmaar
- Den Helder
- Enkhuizen
- Zaandam
- Amstelveen
Genealogy in Noord-Holland
There are no specific naming traditions that researchers need to take into account when doing research in Noord-Holland. Most families had fixed surnames centuries before the civil registration made that mandatory. Some regions did use patronymics in addition to the family name.
Most genealogical records of the province are kept by the Noord-Hollands Archief. The records of Amsterdam are kept by the Amsterdam municipal archives. Unfortunately, neither website is available in English.
Many of the marriage records from Noord-Holland can be found in WieWasWie. This does not include Amsterdam, which in itself accounts for about 10% of the total number of marriage records in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam marriage records are not available online and will not become available for at least another couple of years.
Emigration from Noord-Holland
Noord-Holland has always been one of the more prosperous parts of the Netherlands. Amsterdam especially has always drawn many immigrants. As a result, Noord-Holland wasn’t struck particularly hard by any of the major emigration waves. Many enterpreneurs, especially from Amsterdam, left the country to live in colonies or tradeposts around the world.
Amsterdam was also home to the largest chamber of the Dutch East-Indies Company which also sent many people across the world.
Online images
There are several online sources for images of Noord-Holland:
- Noord-Holland image database. Select ‘Zoeken’ (search) and then type the name of the town or person you’re looking for in ‘Vrij zoeken’ (free search) and press ‘OK’.
- Noord-Holland provincial atlas 1865-1870. This atlas contains both a map of the entire province and maps of the municipalities.
About Yvette Hoitink
I was 4 years old when my family (16 in all) moved to Canada (1952). I was born ,along with 14 siblings, in Den Helder. My father, Antonius & mother, Catharina (Kater). My grandparents Gerrit Mulder & Trientje Marchand..Jan Kater & Bartje Pronker. There is a long list of counsins that still live
in and around The Netherlands.
We’ve been trying to figure out where my husband’s dad was born in Alkmaar.. which house he lived in. His name was Johannes Petros Blokker and he was born Jan. 22,1922. His father was Jacob Blokker born March 9th, 1887
Records of people born less than 100 years are not public yet. If your husband’s dad died in the Netherlands, you can ordering a personal record card from the Central Bureau of Genealogy. See https://www.dutchgenealogy.nl/personal-record-card/card/