Thys is a
Dutch patronymic surname. It is an alternative spelling of
Thijs, a very common nickname for Matthijs (
Mattheus Mattheus is a masculine given name and surname, a Latin form of Matthew. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Mattheus van Beveren (c. 1630-1696), Flemish sculptor
* Mattheus Borrekens (1615-1670), Flemish engraver
* Mattheus Ignatiu ...
). The Dutch digraph
ij and the y ("ij" without dots) were used interchangeably until the surname spelling fixations around 1810. The form "Thys" is particularly common in the Belgian province of
Antwerp, while "Thijs" is most common in
Belgian Limburg
Limburg ( nl, Limburg, ; li, Limburg or ''Wes-Limburg'' ; french: Limbourg, ) is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Region of Flanders, one of the three main political and ...
.
Outside the Low Countries the spelling is almost exclusively "Thys." People with this surname include:
Surname
*
Albert Thys (1849–1915), Belgian businessman active in the Congo Free State
*
Albert Thys (1894–1976), painter
*
Alphonse Thys (1807–1879), French composer
*
Antoine Thys (Antonius Thysius) (1565–1640), Dutch theologian
*
Edith Thys (born 1966), American alpine skier
*
Gert Thys
Gert Thys (born 12 November 1971) is a male long-distance runner from South Africa, who represented his native country in the marathon at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Thys is a former African record holder in the marathon, and is the cu ...
(born 1971), South African long-distance runner
*
Guy Thys (1922–2003), Belgian footballer and football coach
*
Guy Lee Thys
Guy Lee Thys (born 20 October 1952) is a Belgian film producer, director, and screenwriter.
In 1981 Guy Lee Thys, whose nickname in the Belgian media is "''enfant terrible'' of Flemish Cinema", established ''Skyline Films'', renamed ''Fact & Fic ...
(born 1952), Belgian film producer, director, and screenwriter
*
Gysbrecht Thys
Gysbrecht Thys or Gysbrechts Thys[Gysbrecht Thys]
at the Ivan Thys
Ivan Thys (29 April 1897 – 15 February 1982) was a Belgian footballer. He played in sixteen matches for the Belgium national football team
The Belgium national football teamfrench: Équipe nationale belge de footballgerman: Belgisc ...
(1897–1982), Belgian footballer
*
Jeffrey Thys (born 1988), Belgian field hockey player
*
Nicolas Thys
Nicolas Thys (born 27 August 1968) is a Belgian bassist. He graduated in 1994 from the Hilversum Conservatory (in the Netherlands), where he also taught bass and double bass. Thys took private lessons with Dave Holland, Marc Helias and Ma ...
(born 1968), Belgian bassist
*
Pauline Thys
Pauline Marie Elisa Thys Lebault'' (1835–1909) was a French composer and librettist. She was born in Paris, her father was the opéra comique composer Alphonse Thys (1807–1879). Initially she composed salon romances and light piano music, bef ...
(c.1836–1909), French composer and librettist
*
Philippe Thys (1889–1971), Belgian cyclist; three times winner of the Tour de France
*
Thierry Thys
Thierry Thys (May 2, 1931 in San Francisco, CA – August 19, 2009) was an American pilot and metallurgical engineer, who held the world's distance and altitude record for sailplane flight in 1970, and in 2002, made the first self-launched sai ...
(1931–2009), American aerospace engineer and pilot
See also
*
Thijs, given name, nickname and surname
*
Tijs, an ever shorter Dutch form of Matthew
References
{{surname
Dutch-language surnames
Surnames of Belgian origin
Patronymic surnames
Surnames from given names