Project Objectives: We want to broaden the scope of this project to all with the surname and spelling varieties of "Janse..." including: Jans, Jansen, Janson, Janßen, Jansson, Jansz, Jansze, Janse van Eeden, Van Eeden, Janse van Rensburg, Jansen van Rensburg, Rensburg, Van Rensburg, Van Rens, Janse van Vuuren, Van Vuuren. See project background for more alternate spelling varieties. Jansen (and the alternative spellings) usually means “son of Jan” (son of John in English). What we don't know is who the John’s were. In the case of "JANSEN VAN RENSBURG", we assume that the family was named after the son of John (Jan/Johannes) from the town/farm of Rensburg. Exactly where that place was we don't know, hence DNA testing. The progenitor of the family in South Africa was known as Claas JANSZ in archival documents. So far we have established that "Janse(n) van Rensburg’s" are related. In the case of "JANSEN VAN VUUREN", it is assumed that the family was named after the son of John (Jan/Johannes) from the town of Vuren in Gelderland in the Netherlands. In the case of "JANSE VAN EEDEN", the E(e)den does not point to a place name, but is itself a patronym. (Sources as per the "Background" tab). It would be an interesting exercise to find out how many, if any, of the other "Jansen" derivatives and alternate spellings are related; and to try and establish links between Europe and the “new world”. ALL MALES WITH A "JANSE(N)" OR ALTERNATIVE SPELLING IN THEIR SURNAMES ARE THEREFORE INVITED TO JOIN THIS PROJECT. people from ALL COUNTRIES and ALL POPULATION GROUPS are welcome to participate, as long as their surname fit the criteria. The tests we are currently engaged in is yDNA testing, available for males. The results are a set of markers (allowing the results to be matched to those of others), plus a haplogroup, which defines the origin of the subject's ancestors. We prefer to use a minimum of 37-marker test results, as it gives reliable results within 7 generations. 111-marker tests are now available, and members are encouraged to upgrade to a higher-marker test.