Viljoen

Viljoen coat-of-arms.

Viljoen is an Afrikaans surname, derived from the French Villion.^[1] It was brought to South Africa in 1671 by French Huguenots who subsequently intermarried with the local Dutch population.^[2]

The progenitors of the extended Viljoen clan are François Villion (born Clermont, Île-de-France) and Cornelia Campenaar (born Middelburg, Zeeland). Married in the Cape of Good Hope, they later farmed for a living near Stellenbosch. Some of their descendants include:

• Annari Viljoen (born 1987), South African Olympic badminton player
• Barend Viljoen (born 1908), South African military commander
• Ben Viljoen (born 1869), South African military commander
• Christi Viljoen (born 1987), Namibian cricketer
• Colin Viljoen (born 1948), South African born former English international footballer
• Dirk Viljoen (born 1977), former cricketer
• Constand Viljoen (born 1933), former South African military commander and politician
• Gerrit Viljoen (born 1926), former South African government minister
• Hardus Viljoen (born 1989), South African cricketer
• Irene van Dyk, née Viljoen (born 1972), South African and New Zealand international netballer
• Joggie Viljoen (born 1976), South African rugby union footballer
• Johannes Viljoen (1904–1976), South African Olympic track and field athlete
• Jurie Viljoen (born 1942), Namibian politician
• Ken Viljoen (1910–1974), South African cricketer and cricket manager
• Lettie Viljoen, pseudonym of the South African author Ingrid Winterbach
• Marais Viljoen (1915–2007), ceremonial State President of South Africa
• Nik Viljoen, New Zealand international football (soccer) player
• Sunette Viljoen (born 1983), South African javelin thrower
• Willem Viljoen (born 1987), South African Olympic badminton player, brother of Annari

References