Jun 28, 2026
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Your South Holland Family Story
Uncover the origins and meanings behind iconic Dutch surnames from this captivating province.
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Love Netherlands
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Dear Netherlands,
It’s easy to miss the thing that makes the Netherlands special. It isn’t the windmills or the tulips or the canals, though all of those are real and beautiful. It’s a particular kind of attention — the way a Dutch baker arranges the croissants, the way a Dutch cycle lane goes exactly where you need it, the way a brown café has the same four regulars in the same four seats for forty years. Pay attention to that, and you’ll start to love the Netherlands in a way most visitors never do.
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Photo via Love Netherlands
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In today’s email:
- Dutch Surnames of South Holland: Origins and Meanings
- At The Café — Café ‘T Mandje — The First Lesbian Bar in Amsterdam
- Around The Web — Dutch Surnames of Flevoland: Origins and Meanings, Best Beaches in the Netherlands: A Complete Guide for Visitors, Dutch Surnames of Zeeland: Origins and Meanings + more
- From Love Netherlands — Kinderdijk Windmills: The Complete Visitor Guide
- Dutch Food You Will Love — Kibbeling — The Dutch Fried Cod From the Fish Stall
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Dutch Surnames of South Holland: Origins and Meanings
👉 Read the full story
South Holland is the most populous province in the Netherlands. It holds Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Delft, Gouda, and Dordrecht. For centuries, this province sat at the centre of Dutch power and trade. The family names that grew here tell that story. This guide explores the most common Dutch surnames from South Holland , where each name came from, and how far they travelled. The Province That Shaped Dutch History South Holland became the heartland of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. The Hague held the seat of government. Rotterdam grew into one of Europe’s busiest ports. Ships left for Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The men who sailed or traded often carried South Holland surnames with them. The University of Leiden opened in 1575. It was the first university in the Netherlands. Leiden also sheltered the Pilgrim Fathers before they sailed to America in 1620. That…
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Have you been there? Do you have a memory of this corner of the Netherlands? Hit reply and tell us — we’d love to hear your story.
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At The Café
Café ‘T Mandje — The First Lesbian Bar in Amsterdam
Café ‘T Mandje on the Zeedijk opened in 1927, run by Bet van Beeren — one of the first openly lesbian bar owners in the world. The bar’s interior is preserved exactly as Bet left it: dozens of cut-off ties pinned to the ceiling (her custom for any man who got too rowdy), framed photos of regulars from the 1930s onwards, and the same long wooden bar her customers leaned on for half a century. It’s still a working café and an active part of LGBTQ history. Stop in for a beer, take in the ceiling, and read the small museum corner near the door.
👉 Visit the café
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Around The Web
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From Love Netherlands
The Kinderdijk windmills are one of the most iconic sights in the Netherlands — and one of the most visited UNESCO World Heritage Sites in all of Europe. Nineteen historic windmills, most built around 1740, stand shoulder-to-shoulder along a network of dykes in South Holland, their sails turning slowly against an enormous sky. If you have ever pictured the Netherlands in your mind, this is almost certainly what you imagined. Love the…
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Photo: Shutterstock
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Dutch Food You Will Love
Kibbeling — The Dutch Fried Cod From the Fish Stall
Kibbeling is bite-sized chunks of cod, dipped in spiced beer batter and deep-fried until the outside crackles and the fish inside flakes apart. Every fish stall in every Dutch town square sells it, served in a paper cone with a small pot of garlic-and-mustard whitlofsaus. There’s nothing quite like the first bite on a cold afternoon, salt and crisp and steam all in one go. Dutch fried fish is taken seriously here — every region has its own batter recipe, and the truly local stalls cook to order rather than pre-frying.
👉 Read the full story
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