The Beijen/Beyen Family Site
by Laurens Beijen



The size of the families and branches

The present situation

The next table shows the number of Beijen's and Beyen's from the different families and branches in the Netherlands and in other countries. With regard to other countries only people with Dutch ancestors are considered.

Size of families and branches

So nearly three-quarter of the Beijen's belong to the IJsselstein family, and more than 40% of all belong to the Jan Thomas branch.

The distribution over the Dutch provinces and the other countries

According to the latest information the Beijen's are spread over the Dutch provinces and the other countries as follows:

Spread over provinces and countries

The relative distribution over the Dutch provinces

There a major differences between the number of inhabitants of the Dutch provinces. The best view of the "Beijen/Beyen density" can be found by dividing the number of people who have this name by the total number inhabitants of the province. The outcome is below.

Spread over provinces and countries

The map shows that most Beijen's and Beyen's live in the central part of the country.
Of course there are differences between the families and branches. Most members of the Gijsbert branch live in Utrecht and North Holland, the Jan Thomas branch is best represented in Utrecht and South Holland, the Johan Franco branch in North Brabant, the Nieuwkapelle family in North Holland, the Breyell family in Gelderland and the Hengelo family in Overijssel.

The 1947 census: Beijen and other names

The 1947 census in the Netherlands has yielded information about the different family names. The results for the surnames Beijen and Beyen and some resembling names were as follows:

Various names in 1947

The table shows that in 1947 there were hardly any Beijen's and Beyen's outside the provinces Overijssel to South Holland.
The surname Beije is a typical Zeeland name. This name appears to come from the island of Schouwen-Duiveland in Zeeland. Most Beije's in South Holland probably have their roots in Zeeland as well.
The surname Bijen is typical for the province of Overijssel. In 1947 as many as 80 Bijen's lived in the municipality of Weerselo and 57 in Hengelo. The page about the Hengelo family gives more information about the relationship between the Overijssel families Bijen and Beijen.
The surname Beijens/Beyens is most common in North Brabant. This name probably comes from the neighbouring Belgian province of Antwerp.
Of all listed surnames Beijer and Beyer are the cost common.