It has never been calculated exactly how many surnames derive from the Hebrew "Yochanan" (he who Jehovah has favoured), and Latinized originally as "Johannes", but it is known to be in the hundreds. The name was particularly associated with St. John, the Baptist, and St. John, the Evangelist, as well as nearly one thousand other saints with the same name! John appears in every European country in forms ranging from Sean in Ireland, to Giovanni in Italy, and Jan in the Dutch. This is the origin of Janzen, a patronymic surname form of the popular personal name. The name in this form is quite rare, and is a derivative of Janszen, itself from Janszoon. Quite why the "z" developed is unclear, it may be dialectal or it may be a simple spelling error. The name recordings include: Cornelis Janszen, who married Rijnje Gerrits at Nijkerk, Gelderland, on April 24th 1735, and Willemijntje Janzen, who married Jan de Gooijer at Veenendaak, Utrecht, on June 20th 1851. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Cornelis Janszoon, which was dated 1475, marriage to Jacomina Boels, at Zierkzee, Zeeland, Netherlands, during the reign of Frederick 111, Holy Roman Emperor, 1440 - 1493. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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