Based on the work of Abbott (1988), Holland et al (2001) and Wenger (2004) about the development of identity in various contexts, this paper answers the question: ‘How does the development of the professional identity of individual teacher educators relate to the development of the profession of teacher educators?’ Two studies have been conducted: a socio-historical study into the development of the profession of teacher educators in the Netherlands; and an empirical study which gained insights into the development of the professional identity of five teacher educators. The results show that teacher educators develop professional identities that are available in the historical context in which they work as teacher educator and that their identities change when the context of teacher education changes. For example: when teacher education moved from independent colleges into faculties within large institutions, the identity of teacher educators changed from being specialists and subject teachers to being generalists and lecturers who increasingly developed identities as researchers. How the teacher educators perceived the changes varies for each individual. When teacher educators found changes in identity challenging, these changes often involved a (perceived) loss of status or autonomy for individuals or for the professional group.