Netherlands
Legally, a person has one or several given names and one surname. In the case of multiple given names, the individual (or parents) will choose which name (or a derivative thereof) to use on a daily basis ("roepnaam"), as all of these names are given the same "rank". For the most part the naming convention is similar to Germany. In the Netherlands, and also in Belgium, many surnames include a tussenvoegsel: a prefix such as "van der". Many Dutch databases have a separate field to store the tussenvoegsel. In a Dutch phone directory you would find Edwin van der Sar under S for Sar, instead of under V. This is not the case in Belgium, however.
Read more about this topic: Middle Name
Famous quotes containing the word netherlands:
“Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main sugar plantation of the American monopolies; Turkey is prepared to kow-tow before any United States pro-consul and Canada is the boring second fiddle in the American symphony.”
—Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (1909–1989)