Booysen is an

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

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 ...

, also spelled Booyze, Booyse and Booysens. It is related to the English surname Boyce and Boysen in other

Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, ...

s. The ''Stamvader'' Boy Booysen was the first of the generation of the Booysen family which was born in Germany and arrived in South Africa in the mid-17th century. He was a resident of

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

and Drakenstein in the Cape. The genealogy of the family can also be traced back to other ''stamvaders'' including Karl Booysen-Brùndolf, Pierre Joubert (Jaubert) and Jean Durand.

Coat of arms

The Booysen coat of arms is green and gold with a bear standing on a helmet holding a bow. The green represents hope, joy, and loyalty in love. The gold represents generosity of wealth and elevation of the mind. The bear represents strength and ferocity in the protection of one's family. The bow represents a readiness for battle. The shape of the shield, with the flat top, rounded bottom and small central point, is the shape of a continental shield, suggesting that the bearer had much land, wealth and had explored. The shield divided into quarters contains another image of the bear holding a bow in the top right segment. The top left and bottom right segments depict an oak tree with acorns, signifying strength, continuous growth (in mind/wisdom), and fertility. The bottom left segment is divided once more and is of a five-point star which represents a noble person/divine quality form above. The other half of that segment is half of a

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

which represents purity and light (and may also represent that the bearer had a connection with France).

Notable people named Booysen

* Anene Booysen, 17-year-old girl from Bredasdorp, South Africa, raped and killed in February 2013 *Beandri Booysen, A person famous for having

Progeria Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or Hutchinson–Gilford progeroid syndrome (HGPS). A single gene mutation is responsible for causing progeria. The affected gene, known as lamin A ( ...

who died at 19-years old. *

Cecile Booysen Cécile Booysen (1895 – 7 April 1937) was a South African doctor, peace activist, and promoter of birth control. She was the founder of the Goswell Women's Welfare Centre and the Medical Peace Campaign. Life Booysen was born in 1895, the daug ...

, doctor, peace activist, and promoter of birth control * David Booysen, rugby league footballer of the 1920s for Other Nationalities, and Wigan *

David Booysen (footballer) David Booysen (born 25 May 1989 in Cape Town, Western Cape) is a South African football (soccer) defender who last plays for Cape Town All Stars. Personal life His older brother, Mario Booysen Mario Booysen (born 15 August 1988) is a S ...

, association (soccer) footballer for Maritzburg United F.C. * Dawid Booysen, South African shot put record holder in 1970, won the British AAA Championships in 1967, father of Henk Booysen *

Henk Booysen Henk Booysen (born 1 November 1972) is a retired South African shot putter and javelin thrower. In the shot put he won the gold medal at the 1995 All-Africa Games and the 1996 African Championships. In the javelin throw he finished fourth at the ...

, Gold medal in shot put at the 1995 All-Africa Games and 1996 African Championships *

Jaco Booysen Jaco Booysen is a South African former rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He played representative rugby league (RL) for South Africa in rugby league at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup and 2000 Rug ...

, Rugby league player for South Africa in two World Cups *Jimmy Booysen, Silver medal recipient of

Order of Mendi for Bravery The Order of Mendi for Bravery is a South African civilian honour awarded to South Africans who have performed acts of bravery in attempts to save lives or property. It is granted by the President of South Africa for acts performed by South Afri ...

in 2004 *

Marco Booysen Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

, South African Archery gold medallist in 2017 *

Mario Booysen Mario Booysen (born 15 August 1988) is a South African professional soccer player who last played as a defender for Amazulu in the South African Premier Division. International career Booysen was selected in the South Africa senior team prel ...

, South African football defender * Stefanes Booysen, honorary professor at the School of Accountancy at the University of Pretoria

References

{{reflist Surnames Afrikaans-language surnames Surnames of German origin