Pienaar

Pienaar is a well-known Afrikaans surname, derived from the French Pinard.[1] It was brought to South Africa in 1688 by Huguenot settlers traveling with the Dutch East India Company.[2] The extended progenitors of the Pienaar clan are Jacques Pinard, a carpenter from Eure-et-Loir, and Esther Foucher (born Suèvres, Orléanais). After Esther's death Pinard later remarried Marthe le Fèbre, a native of Paarl.[2] 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.[3]

Some of the descendants of the Pienaar progenitors include:

• Antoinette Pienaar, South African actress and writer
• Ben Pienaar, British rugby player
• Dan Pienaar, South African career soldier
• Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
• Gerhardus Pienaar, South African javelin thrower
• John Pienaar, British journalist
• Jonathan Pienaar, South African actor
• Louis Pienaar, South African diplomat
• Michael Pienaar, Namibian football player
• Pierre de Villiers Pienaar, South African academic
• Peet Pienaar, South African performance artist
• Roy Pienaar, South African cricketer
• Ruan Pienaar, South African rugby player
• Steven Pienaar, South African football player