Tzum (Dutch pronunciation: [tsʏm], West Frisian: Tsjom) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands.

The oldest form is probably Kimminge; perhaps this was the name of the rift that flowed north of and along the salt marsh wall at Tzum.

The last two show the corruption of the probable Kimmingeheem, which arose when the toponymic suffix -heem was added by the many tribes that invaded Friesland.

The corrupted spellings of Kimmingeheem were gradually merged into Kingum, which was subsequently changed by Danish influences to Tsjumgum, Tsjomgum or Ztumgum (1408).

This salt marsh wall was also the coastline, because the Wadden Sea lay directly north of it.

East of Tzum, the salt marsh wall was interrupted by a southward flowing tidal creek, which we assume was called Laak by the residents.

An example of this is the hamlet of Tolsum's writing board, found not far from Tzum, about a negotiation between a slave named Carus and an unknown master.

[7] In addition, there was a Roman camp southeast of Tzum, on the site of the hamlet of De Kampen.

After the capture of northwest Friesland by Frankish troops in 734, the new rulers tried to convert the inhabitants of Tzum to Christianity.

For this purpose, Franekeradeel was divided into four Fiarndelen (West Frisian for 'fourth parts') of two eedsgebieden ('oath areas') each, which provided a judge.

One of these Fiarndelen (with a capital letter) was the Tzumminga Fiarndel, but here surprisingly enough these judges were excluded from the grietman's choice.

Tzumminga Fiarndel was in turn divided into four fiarndelen (with lower case letters):[7][8] In 1516, almost the entire village was burned down by the Zwarte Hoop, a group of discarded soldiers of George of Saxony.

[11] After the agricultural crisis of 1870, unemployment increased drastically and significantly more construction took place in the village center.

On the Fabrieksweg, in the west of Tzum, are the remains of an old dairy complex called Coöperatieve Stoomzuivelfabriek De Eensgezindheid.