Dutch Surname Research · Netherlands Heritage
Dutch surname · meaning, origin and genealogy
A contracted patronymic surname derived from Denis (Dutch: Denijs), the name of the patron saint of France and one of the most venerated saints of the medieval Low Countries. Denijs was shortened to Nijs in Flemish speech — a common pattern of name contraction in Dutch and Flemish dialects. Saint Denis, bishop and martyr, had numerous churches dedicated to him across the Low Countries, making Denijs and its contracted forms widespread given names and patronymics. The name also appears as Nijssen, Nijsen, and De Nijs.
Particularly characteristic of Flemish Belgium and the southern Netherlands, especially in East Flanders, Antwerp, and North Brabant, where Saint Denis's cult was strongest.
The Nijs family of Ghent, documented in 16th-century Flemish guild records as textile merchants. Also: numerous Nijs/Nijssen families in the Catholic parish registers of Antwerp and Brussels from the 17th century.
NAYS
Nijs and Nijssen records are concentrated in the Flemish provincial archives: the Rijksarchief in Ghent (East Flanders), the Stadsarchief in Antwerp, and the BHIC for North Brabant. The Algemeen Rijksarchief in Brussels holds records for Flemish families that crossed into the Dutch Republic.
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