Numbers and Calendar
Dates and Time
In Dutch records, dates are often written out. For example:
Donderdag, drie en twintig maart in het jaar van onse heer een duizend acht hondert en zesendertig [Thursday, three and twenty March in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and six and thirty].
The names of months and days of the week are never capitalized in Dutch.
To understand Dutch dates, use the following list.
English |
Dutch |
Archaic Form |
English Translation |
| January | januari | louwmaand | tanning month |
| February | februari | sprokkelmaand | wood-gathering month |
| March | maart | lentemaand | spring month |
| April | april | grasmaand | grass month |
| May | mei | bloeimaand | blossom month |
| June | juni | zomermaand | summer month |
| July | juli | hooimaand | hay month |
| August | augustus | oogstmaand | harvest month |
| September | september (7ber) | herfstmaand | autumn month |
| October | october (8ber) | wijnmaand | wine month |
| November | november (9ber) | slachtmaand | slaughter month |
| December | december (10ber) | wintermaand | winter month |
Days of the Week
English |
Dutch |
| Sunday | zondag |
| Monday | maandag |
| Tuesday | dinsdag |
| Wednesday | woensdag |
| Thursday | donderdag |
| Friday | vrijdag |
| Saturday | zaterdag |
Times of the Day
Dutch birth and death records often indicated the time of day when the birth or death occurred. This is usually written out.
Dutch |
English |
| des avonds ('s avonds) | in the evening |
| des middags ('s middags) | in the afternoon |
| des morgens ('s morgens) | in the morning |
| des nachts ('s nachts) | in the night |
| in de namiddag | in the mid-afternoon |
| in de voormiddag | in the mid-morning |
Numbers
In some Dutch genealogical records, numbers are written out. This is especially true with dates. The following list gives the cardinal (1, 2, 3) and the ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd) versions of each number. Days of the month are written in ordinal form. Below is a helpful table to better understand written Dutch numbers.
Cardinal |
Ordinal |
||
| 1 | een | 1st | eerste |
| 2 | twee | 2nd | tweede |
| 3 | drie | 3rd | derde |
| 4 | vier | 4th | vierde |
| 5 | vijf | 5th | vijfde |
| 6 | zes | 6th | zesde |
| 7 | zeven | 7th | zevende |
| 8 | acht | 8th | achtste |
| 9 | negen | 9th | negende |
| 10 | tien | 10th | tiende |
| 11 | elf | 11th | elfde |
| 12 | twaalf | 12th | twaalfde |
| 13 | dertien | 13th | dertiende |
| 14 | veertien | 14th | veertiende |
| 15 | vijftien | 15th | vijftiende |
| 16 | zestien | 16th | zestiende |
| 17 | zeventien | 17th | zeventiende |
| 18 | achttien | 18th | achttiende |
| 19 | negentie | 19th | negentiende |
| 20 | twintig | 20th | twintigste |
| 21 | eenentwintig | 21st | eenentwintigste |
| 22 | tweeëntwintig | 22th | tweeëntwintigste |
| 23 | drieentwintig | 23th | drieentwintigste |
| 24 | vierentwintig | 24th | vierentwintigste |
| 25 | vijfentwintig | 25th | vijfentwintigste |
| 26 | zesentwintig | 26th | zesentwintigste |
| 27 | zevenentwintig | 27th | zevenentwintigste |
| 28 | achtentwintig | 28th | achtentwintigste |
| 29 | negenentwintig | 29th | negenentwintigste |
| 30 | dertig | 30th | dertigste |
| 31 | eenendertig | 31th | eenendertigste |
| 40 | veertig | 40th | veertigste |
| 50 | vijftig | 50th | vijftigste |
| 60 | zestig | 60th | zestigste |
| 70 | zeventig | 70th | zevenstigte |
| 80 | tachtig | 80th | tachtigste |
| 90 | negentig | 90th | negentigste |
| 100 | honderd | 100th | honderdste |
| 101 | honderd(en)een | 101st | honderd(en)eerste |
| 200 | tweehonderd | 200th | tweehonderdste |
| 1000 | duizend | 1000th | duizendste |
Refer often to this page as you begin your Dutch genealogical work.
Word List Extracted from the FamilySearch Wiki
Researchers should note that under Napoleon's French occupation of the Dutch, they were forced to use the French Republican Calendar and may have written official documents in French. More information can be found here Calendar- French Republican Calendar.