Why is Holland also called Netherlands?
When the country Nederland came into existence Holland was one of the provinces that joined the new country. As usual in that time the countries surrounding the new country translated the name of the new country into their own language, so Nederland became known as the Netherlands in English, Niederlande in German and le Pais Bas in French and so on. But as the Duchy of Holland was well known over the world that name did become the nickname for all the country Nederland. It was its most influential area, and the name was established enough not to be ‘translated’ or not more than needed for local pronunciation. Nowadays Holland is nothing but an informal region in the west of the country, and the name for two provinces, which together make up the region: Noord Holland and Zuid Holland. So your question should read ‘why is the country the Netherlands also known as Holland.’ I guess that the answer will be something like: Because the people are still too lazy to use the proper name, still
