What is "thys"

Thys is a Dutch patronymic surname similar to Thijs, a being a very common nickname for Matthijs ( Mattheus). 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. Outside the Low Countries the spelling is almost exclusively "Thys". People with this surname include: