This essay has two goals. First, it traces the different meanings of the ‘Northern Netherlands’. Regional and national policymakers used this geographical notion after the second World War in order to develop regions. However, they lost the capability to dominate the (positive) connotation from the 1960s onwards. Other domains of society, such as science and journalism, framed the term in their own way. Due to disappointed expectations about economic policies, the ‘Northern Netherlands’ got a negative significance. Second, the essay unfolds a critique of both the positive and the negative meaning of the concept. Both frames are guilty of oversimplication. Moreover, older connotations of the Northern Netherlands do not fit the reality of sub-regionalization within this part of the Netherlands. A new meaning of the ‘Northern Netherlands’ can only be found in the acceptance of the regional variety within the northern part of the Netherlands. The study of regional history can contribute to the process of sub-regionalization. With its capacity to analyze social, cultural and economic differences, it can increase our knowledge of the regions within the Northern Netherlands.