Pienaar is a well-known

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

surname, derived from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

'' Pinard''. It was brought to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1688 by

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

settlers traveling with the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

.Jacques Pinard
/ref> The extended progenitors of the Pienaar clan are Jacques Pinard, a carpenter from

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Suèvres Suèvres () is a Communes of France, commune of the Loir-et-Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department References

Communes of Loir-et-Cher { ...

Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départm ...

). After Esther's death Pinard later remarried Marthe le Fèbre, a native of

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

. An extensive genealogy of the Pienaar family in South Africa was compiled by ZJ (Sakkie) Pienaar, and privately published as "Die Pienaars in Suid-Afrika." An updated version of the Pienaar genealogy was compiled by Christo Viljoen, whose mother was née Pienaar, as the "Pienaar Familieregister" and published by the Huguenot Society of South Africa. Some of the descendants of the Pienaar progenitors include: * Antoinette Pienaar, South African actress and writer * Ben Pienaar, British rugby player *

Dan Pienaar Major General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar (27 August 1893 – 19 December 1942) was a South African World War II military commander. Early life and career He was born in Ladybrand, Orange Free State and in his youth grew up in Natal. His family ...

, South African career soldier *

Francois Pienaar Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for ...

, South African rugby player *

Gerhardus Pienaar Gerhardus "Hardus" Pienaar (born 10 August 1981 in Rustenburg, North West) is a South African javelin thrower and former Junior World Champion from South Africa. His personal best throw is 84.50 metres, achieved in October 2003 in Hyderabad, Ind ...

, South African javelin thrower *

John Pienaar John Adrian Pienaar (born 2 October 1956) is a British journalist who currently works for Times Radio, previously rising to prominence as deputy political editor for BBC News. Early life Pienaar was born in Middlesex. His parents, Eric and Joh ...

, British journalist *

Jonathan Pienaar Jonathan Pienaar (born 16 September 1962) is a South African writer, actor, voice-over artist and comedian who has been active for over 20 years. He has appeared in both South African and international films and television shows including ''Ski ...

, South African actor *

Louis Pienaar Louis Alexander Pienaar (23 June 1926 – 5 November 2012) was a South African lawyer and diplomat. He was the last white Administrator of South-West Africa, from 1985 through Namibian independence in 1990. Pienaar later served as a minister in ...

, South African diplomat * Michael Pienaar, Namibian football player *

Pierre de Villiers Pienaar Pierre de Villiers Pienaar (1904–1978) was a South African Afrikaans academic and Professor at University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and later at University of Pretoria, who pioneered Speech Language Therapy in South AfricaHoofstad, 7 April 1 ...

, South African academic *

Peet Pienaar Peet Pienaar (born 29 August 1971 near Potchefstroom, South Africa) is a South African performance artist, most famous for having himself videotaped while undergoing circumcision in 2000. The discarded foreskin, displayed in a small perspex case ...

, South African performance artist *

Roy Pienaar Roy Francois Pienaar (born 17 July 1961) is a South African former first-class cricketer. He played for Transvaal, Western Province and Northern Transvaal/Northerns in domestic cricket and spent the period between 1987 and 1989 in England playi ...

, South African cricketer *

Ruan Pienaar Ruan Pienaar (born 10 March 1984) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half for the in the Currie Cup. Pienaar is the son of former Springbok fullback Gysie Pienaar. Ruan ...

, South African rugby player *

Steven Pienaar Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the U18 team of the Ajax Youth Academy. He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as ...

, South African football player * Susanna Pienaar, South African writer

Characters in fiction

Peter Pienaar Peter Pienaar is a character from John Buchan's series of Richard Hannay books. He is described by Hannay as being "five foot ten, very thin and active, and as strong as a buffalo ithpale blue eyes, a face as gentle as a girl's, and a soft sleep ...

, fictional World War I flying ace *Ross Pienaar, fictional character in the movie "

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...

References

{{surname Surnames of French origin Afrikaans-language surnames