Belgium Topological Naming Conventions
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This page is inspired by the Flemish Naming Convention and the necessity for uniform and standardized place names in the Belgian profiles.
Using the correct name for a city or municipality is a complex matter in Belgium. Municipal Topological names have changed over the centuries, depending first on the traditional evolution and urbanization, later – during the 18th and 19th century – on administrative necessities and on the occupying nation our provinces depended of. Also during the 20 century up until now regional politics, changes of the administrative autonomy, and the local efficiency (and budgetary constraints) drive have influenced the changing municipal landscape.
It’s therefore of utmost importance what name to chose when citing a topological name in the place name fields of a profile
Principle I: identify places as completely as possible
This means that given a particular date the topological name of a minicipal entity might change. Its essential that a particular combination of names is also given a valid date.
The structure of the name :
Based on the current administrative name of the place
- District : optional entry : only Antwerp has districts but neither for Birth, Marriage or Death/Burial they are relevant entries because not every district has a hospital with a maternity ward, so people are registered as born in another district (or even in another municipality) than the one their parents actually live in. that makes the districts irrelevant for BMD records.
- Placename : local linguistically correct name of towns and municipalities
- Arrondissement : optional entry : all provinces are subdivided in administrative arrondissements, the name of the arrondissement is optional and should only be used if a municipality with the same name exists in one province (this should be resolved over time the fusion of Belgian municipalities ie
- Putte municipality in the Province of Antwerp, near Mechelen and therefore in the arrondissement of Mechelen
- Putte municipality in the Province of Antwerp, in the arrondissement of Antwerpen
- Province : linguistically correct name of the province ( with one notable exception the German speaking municipalities that are situated in the french speaking province of Liège)
- Country : linguistically applicable name of the country ( with one notable exception the German speaking municipalities the country will be the French name like the province)
Principle II : use the untranslated name in the local language
Many towns and municipalities have more then one name so choosing the correct one is fairly basic. As a primary rule use the local linguistically correct name, the untranslated topological name in the local language as this maintains historical uniformity, consider the names in other languages as a translated name.
Walloon places carry the French names, Flemish places the Dutch names, that is an obvious principle. However places in the bilingual region of Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest/ Région Bruxelles Capitale may have both a French and a Dutch name.
- Antwerpen, Gent, Brugge and Kortrijk are Flemish towns, so they are not called Anvers, Gand, Bruges or Courtrai.
- Liège, Namur, Luxembourg, and Mons are Walloon places, so they are not called Luik, Namen, Luxemburg or Bergen.
From this principle is deviated in the case of the bilingual region around the Capital. Both Brussel and Bruxelles denote the same city. For Brussels and the 19 municipalities that make up the Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest/ Région Bruxelles Capitale , it’s advisable however to make use of the use the correct name in a single language for example :
- Ukkel, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest, België -or- Uccle, Région Bruxelles Capitale, Belgique
- Brussel, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest, België -or- Bruxelles, Région Bruxelles Capitale, Belgique
The German speaking area has German names for municipalities like Eupen, however they are located in the province of Liège. example
- Eupen, Liège, Belgique
The criteria to select the use of either the French or Dutch name of the municipality should be determined by the language of the original document.
This principle should also be maintained when original document such as Civil registry documents identify the place by a translated name (like during the French occupation 1790-1814) then the name should be the same as on the original document (primary source).
Principle III : use the official period correct name for administrative entities
Country :
Belgium : this is the territory within the current border of the Belgian State which may have changed at the early years of the independence, and during and after WWI and WWII. This area might have been part of the following kingdoms and empires
| Dates period
(fm – to) | Period | Designation Belgium | Notes |
| 57 BC - 293 CE | Roman period | Belgica | No written civil registry data |
| 297 – 693 CE
693 – 840 CE | Merovingian and
Carolingian period | Belgica Prima
Austrasie & Neustrië | No written civil registry data |
| 843 -1384 CE | Middle ages | Counties, Duchies, Castellanies and Heerlijkheden of the feudal period
with principally the County of Flanders ( Graafschap Vlaanderen), the Duchy of Brabant (Hertogdom Brabant), the County of Hainaut (Graafschap Henegouwen), the Princedom of Lorraine (Vorstendom van Lotharingen) and the Prince-Bishopric of Liege (Prins-Bisdom Luik) | Some written data |
| 1384-1482 | Burgundian period | County of Flanders part of Kingdom of France
Duchy of Brabant (Hertogdom Brabant) County of Hainout (Graafschap Henegouwen) Princedom of Lorraine (Vorstendom van Lothaingen) Part of the Duchy of Burgundy | Some written data |
| 1483 -1585 | Habsburg period | The Habsburg Netherlands | Some written data |
| 1543-1585 | Habsburg period | Verenigde Provinciën der Nederlanden (United provinces of the Netherlands) | |
| 1585 -1714 | Spanish period | The Spanish Netherlands | Start of structured record keeping |
| 1715 -1794 | Austrian period | The Austrian Netherlands | Structured record keeping |
| 1795 -1804 | French Occupation period | Les Neuf Départments Réunis (French Republic) | Structured record keeping |
| 1805-1814 | French Occupation period | Southern Netherlands (French Empire) | Structured record keeping |
| 1814 -1830 | Dutch period | Kingdom of the Netherlands | Structured record keeping |
| 1831 – now | Belgium Independant | Kingdom of Belgium | Structured record keeping |
| 1914 -1918 | WWI :
Belgium Occupied | Belgium(occupation WWI) | Structured record keeping ( compromised by sabotage) |
| 1940-1945 | WWII :
Belgium Occupied | Belgium(Deutches Reich WWII) | Structured record keeping ( compromised by sabotage) |
(source Wikpedia Geschiedenis van België
In inverse chronological order ( youngest first)
Since its independence in 1830
Provinces
The territory currently know as Belgium had 9 provinces since 1794 when the French occupied the territory of Belgium and created 9 departments ( which grosso modo align with the previous 9 regions of the feudal organisation of the southern Netherlands.
Willem, King of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, continued that organisation in 1814 and in 1831 the Belgian parliament voted a law that established the 9 provinces. source Wikipedia Provincies van België .
These are the official names of the provinces :
- Antwerpen,
- Brabant,
- Hainaut,
- Limburg,
- Liège,
- Luxembourg,
- Namur,
- Oost-Vlaanderen
- West-Vlaanderen.
In 1995 the province of Brabant was split into following entities
- Vlaams-Brabant, (Dutch speaking)
- Brabant Wallon, ( French speaking)
- Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest/ Région Bruxelles Capitale ( the latter being outside the provincial structure)
Since the Constitutional State Reform of 1980 the unitary country Belgium was split into a federative state that consists of 3 Regional entities (Gewesten, Regions) on the one hand and 3 Linguistic Communities (Taalgemeenschappen, Cummunautés Linguistiques) and a bilingual area on the other . Overview Institutional Structure of Belgium.
Regions
However the civil registry is the competence of the local councils supervised by the Court of First Instance and under the guidance and supervision of the regional government (gewest).
The regional entities are • Vlaanderen • Wallonie • Brussels Hoofdstedelijk gewest/ Région Bruxelles Capitale
Arrondissement
Each province has several sub units called arrondissement this is the current list
| Antwerpen | Antwerpen, Mechelen, Turnhout |
| RBC/BHG | Brussel hoofdstad/Bruxelles capitale
the competences of the provinces and arrondissements are exercised by the regional government |
| Brabant Wallon (from 1995) | Nivelles, Wavre |
| Vlaams Brabant (from 1995) | Halle-Vilvoorde, Leuven |
| Hainaut | Ath ,Charleroi, Mons, Moucron, Soignies, Thuin, Tournai |
| Liège | Huy, Liège, Verviers, Waremme, |
| Limburg | Hasselt, Maaseik, Tongeren |
| Luxembourg | Arlon, Bastogne, Marche-en-Famenne, Neufchateau, Virton |
| Namur | Dinant, Namur, Philippeville |
| Oost Vlaanderen | Aalst, Dendermonde, Eke, Gent , Oudenaarde, St Niklaas |
| West Vlaanderen | Brugge, Kortrijk, Diksmuide, Oostende, Roeselare, Tielt, Veurne, Ieper |
Source List of Arrondissements and municipalentities
Municipal entities
Belgium has currently 589 municipal entities . The full list ordered by Province and Arrondissement can be consulted at List of Belgian Municipal Entities.
In 1831 after the Belgian independence the country counted 2739 municipal entities. Since 1983 that number has been reduced 589. Most municipal entities have been established by a merger in 1977 (and for Antwerp in 1983). Details of the mergers of municipal entities
In most municipal entities there are sub entities, the former municipalities from before the merger those are called “deelgemeenten” : i.e. the former municipality of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Laar, Landen, Neerhespen, Neerlanden, Neerwinden, Overhespen, Overwinden, Rumsdorp, Waasmont, Walsbets, Walshoutem, Wange en Wezeren were merged into the municipal entity (gemeente) Landen. In some cases this sub entity(deelgemeente) will be mentioned in official documents.
In Antwerp in 1923 the municipality of Burcht Zwijdrecht, and St Anna parochie were merged into Linkeroever and added to the cities territory. In 1958 the municipal entities Oorderen, Oosterweel en Wilmarsdonck were erased and their territory became part of the Antwerp Harbour area, the municipality of Lillo, Berendrecht, Zandvliet were merged with Antwerpen. In 1983 the sub urban municipality bordering with Antwerpen (Ekeren, Merksem, Deurne, Borgerhout, Berchem, Wilrijk and Hoboken) were fused into Fusiestad (Groot-)Antwerpen. Antwerpen (intra muros), Lillo-Berendrecht-Zandvliet, and the merged municipality became districts of Antwerpen wiht their own autonomous council and political responsibilities.
Examples of naming
for Merksem the district of Antwerpen the examples between 1794 and now would be
- (Merksem,) Antwerpen, (Antwerpen,) Antwerpen, België (from 1983 onward)
- Merksem, (Antwerpen,) Antwerpen, België (1831-1983)
- Merksem, Antwerpen, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (1814-1830)
- Merksem, Twee Nethen, de Zuidelijke Nederlanden, Empire Française, (1805-1814)
- Merksem, Deux Nethes, les 9 départments, République Française, (1794-1804)
Another example for sub commune ( deelgemeente) Gierle
- (Gierle,) Lille, (Turnhout,) Antwerpen, België (from 1977 onward)
- Gierle, (Turnhout,) Antwerpen, België (1831-1977)
- Gierle, Antwerpen, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (1814-1830)
- Gierle, Twee Nethen, de Zuidelijke Nederlanden, Empire Française, (1805-1814)
- Gierle, Deux Nethes, les 9 départments, République Française, (1794-1804)
and for the city of Lier
- Lier, (Antwerpen,) Antwerpen, België (from 1831 onward)
- Lier, Antwerpen, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (1814-1830)
- Lier, Twee Nethen, de Zuidelijke Nederlanden, Empire Française, (1805-1814)
- Lier, Deux Nethes, les 9 départments, République Française, (1794-1804)
Historical
1815-1830: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden*
“The kingdom of the Netherlands” had 18 provinces In the area that is currently Belgium
- Antwerpen
- Henegouwen
- Luik
- Namen
- Oost-Vlaanderen
- West-Vlaanderen
- Zuid-Brabant
- Luxemburg
In the area that is currently the Netherlands
- Drenthe
- Friesland
- Gelderland
- Groningen
- Holland
- Limburg
- Noord-Brabant
- Overijssel
- Utrecht
- Zeeland
You will notice that Limburg is missing from the area currently Belgium but this was 1 province during the period of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
1795 -1814 The French Occupation
Two periods are distinguishable :
1805-1814: Zuidelijke Nederlanden, Empire Française,
the "Southern Netherlands" of the Napoleontic “French Empire”
1795-1804: Neuf Départements Réunis, Republique Française,
during the French first republic les neuf départements réunis or the nine united departments with the name of the current provinces after the annexation of the Austrian Netherland (Oostenrijkse Nederlanden) and the Prince-Bishopry of Liège ( prinsbisdom Luik ) by the french first republic in 1793 by decrée of August 31st 1795:
- arrondissement of departement Leie - current province West-Vlaanderen
- arrondissement of departement Schelde – current province Oost-Vlaanderen
- arrondissement of departement Twee Nethen – current province Antwerpen
- arrondissement of departement Dijle - current provincie Brabant
- arrondissement of departement Bas-Meuse – current provinces Limburg & Nederlands Limburg
- arrondissement of departement Ourthe – current provincie Liège
- arrondissement of departement Jemmapes - current province Hainaut
- arrondissement of departement Sambre-et-Meuse - current provincie Namur
- arrondissement of departement Forêts – current province Luxembourg & Grand-Duché Luxembourg
1482- 1795 : The Habsburg period
1715-1795: Oostenrijkse Nederlanden
the "Austrian Netherlands" during occupation of the Habsburg Empire of Austria and Hungary
1585-1714: Spaanse Nederlanden
the “Spanish Netherlands” (1556-1714), under Spanish Habsburg occupation,
1544-1585 : Verenigde provinciën der Nederlanden
the United (17) provinces of the Netherlands
1482-1543 Habsburgse Nederlanden
the Habsburg Netherlands
- Comté d’Artois / Graafschap Artesië
- Graafschap Vlaanderen
- Rijsels-Vlaanderen ( kasselrijen Rijsel, Dowaai en Orchies)
- Heerlijkheid Mechelen
- Graafschap Namen
- Graafschap Henegouwen
- Graafschap Zeeland
- Graafschap Holland
- Hertogdom Brabant (met markgraafschap Antwerpen)
- Hertogdom Limburg en de landen van Overmaas
- Hertogdom Luxemburg
- Doornik en het Doornikse (sinds 1521)
- Heerlijkheid Friesland (sinds 1524)
- Heerlijkheid Utrecht (sinds 1528)
- Heerlijkheid Overijssel, incl. Drenthe, Lingen, Wedde en Westwoldingerland (sinds 1528)
- Heerlijkheid Groningen en Ommelanden (sinds 1536)
- Hertogdom Gelre en Graafschap Zutphen (sinds 1543)
| Image:Karte Haus Burgund 4 EN.png |
| Belgium : Territory of the Dukes of Burgundy 1465-1477 |
Territories of the House of Valois-Burgundy during the reign of Charles the Bold, 1465/67–1477 Author : Marco Zanoli (sidonius 12:09, 2 May 2008 (UTC)) ; 02 may 2008, CC-by-sa 4.0 Source : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karte_Haus_Burgund_4_EN.png
- Graafschap Vlaanderen
- Hertogdom Brabant (met markgraafschap Antwerpen en heerlijkheid Mechelen)
- Rijsels-Vlaanderen ( kasselrijen Rijsel, Dowaai en Orchies)
- Hertogdom Limburg
- Comté d’Artois (graafschap Artesië ) et Picardie
- Doornik en het Doornikse
- Comté Vermandois
- Comté de Namur
- Comté de Hainaut
- Duché de Luxemburg
- Graafschap Zeeland
- Graafschap Holland
- Heerlijkheid Friesland
- Hertogdom Gelre
- Graafschap Zutphen
- Graafschap Cleves
Waren geen formeel deel van het Bourgondische rijk maar wel onder diens invloed
- Prince-Echevecher de Liège
- Prins-Bisdom Utrecht
- Graafschap Cleves
- Prince-Echevecher de Cambray
- Comté de St Pol
Organisation of the Roman Catholic Church of Belgium
Arch-Diocese of Mechelen Brussels (Aartsbisdom Mechelen-Brussel ):
- with Vlaams-Brabant, Waals-Brabant, het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest en de kantons Mechelen, Duffel, Willebroek en Puurs
- Diocese Antwerpen: 1559-1801 and from 1961 (without Mechelen, Duffel, Willebroek en Puurs, Zwijndrecht en Burcht)
- Diocese Brugge: 1559-1801 and since 1834 (West-Vlaanderen)
- Diocese Doornik: from 6th century until 1564 and from 1802 (Hainaut)
- Diocese Gent: from 1559 (Oost-Vlaanderen and Zwijndrecht en Burcht)
- Diocese Hasselt: from 1967 (Limburg (België)
- Diocese Liège: from the 5th century (Liège)
- Diocese Namur
The structure of a localities name of parochial records would be :
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