Viljoen

Viljoen coat-of-arms.

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

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