Zijlstra is a West Frisian toponymic or

occupational surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

meaning "from/of the ''Zijl''", a

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...

name for a type of sluice (Modern Dutch '' Spuisluis'', German '' Siel''). The suffix "-stra" is derived from old Germanic -sater, meaning sitter or dweller. The name could thus be referring to a lock keeper. Variant forms are ''Zeijlstra'', ''Zeilstra'', ''Zylstra'', and ''Sylstra''. The latter is the common spelling abroad.Zijlstra (y)
at the Database of Surnames in The Netherlands. People with this name include: *

Anca Zijlstra Anja Carolina Zijlstra (born 3 September 1973) is a Dutch darts player who competes in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF). Career World Championship results BDO/WDF * 2016: Quarter-finals (lost to Aileen de Graaf 1–2) * 2017: First r ...

(born 1973), Dutch darts player * Auke Zijlstra (born 1964), Dutch politician (PVV) * Carla Zijlstra (born 1969), Dutch speed skater * Halbe Zijlstra (born 1969), Dutch politician (VVD), Minister of Foreign Affairs 2017–18 * Hieke Zijlstra (born 1981), Dutch footballer * Jelle Zijlstra (1918–2001), Dutch politician (ARP), economist and banker, Prime Minister 1966–67 * Kees Zijlstra (1931–2013), Dutch politician (PvdA) and civil servant * Martin Zijlstra (1944–2014), Dutch politician (PvdA) * Mauro Zijlstra (born 2004), Dutch footballer * Rinse Zijlstra (1927–2017), Dutch politician (ARP), brother of Jelle * Sipke Zijlstra (born 1985), Dutch racing cyclist * Wout Zijlstra (born 1964), Dutch strongman Zeilstra * Bart Zeilstra (born 1982), Dutch rapper and singer known as "Baas B" Zylstra * Bernard Zylstra (1934–1986), Canadian political scientist * Brandon Zylstra (born 1993), American football player * Gerben Zylstra (born 1959), American biochemist * Lynne Zylstra (1945 - 2023), New Zealand artist * Shane Zylstra (born 1996), American football player

References

{{surname Occupational surnames Surnames of Frisian origin Dutch toponymic surnames de:Zijlstra pl:Zijlstra simple:Zijlstra