From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the newly independent Dutch Republic.
按资料上说的,holland 一词是866年在 Haarlem 地区第一次出现。按牛津字典上解释,holland 从holtland 演变出来,holtland 的意思是 wooded land。因为Haarlem 这个地方有森林。Haarlem 这个词里有三个基本词,haar, lo, heim。lo 表示 'forest', heim (heem, em or um) 表示 'home' or 'house'. Haar 里面的一个意思表示 'elevated place',那个地方在一个沙丘上。 所以整个Haarlem 的意思是 'home on a forested dune'。