From 1876 Leiden University was known as Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden (State University at Leiden). This prefix was to distinguish the university from those that were in the hands of other authorities. The new Higher Education Act of 1876 made the founding of free universities (free from the state) possible. In the 1980s, when branding and marketing became more important, that changed into Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Leiden State University). In 1998 they dropped the "Rijks" prefix, because the relationship with the state has become less tight and the university didn't want to appear as an instrument of the state. The university still gets most of its money from the state, as do all universities in the Netherlands.

Some old signs of that time still remain, but they are in danger of branding and public relation people.

Of the four Rijksuniversiteiten, only the one at Groningen still carries the prefix.