Van Eyck

Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch toponymic surname. "Eijck", "Eyck", "Eyk" and "Eijk" are all archaic spellings of modern Dutch ("oak") and the surname literally translates as "from/of oak". However, in most cases, the family name refers to an origin in Maaseik. This city on the Meuse, now in Belgium on the border with the Netherlands, was originally simply known as "Eike" (with many spellings) and from the 13th century as Old Eyck and New Eyck. Names with a particle, like "Van der Eijk" are more likely to refer directly to the tree. People with this surname include:
Renaissance family of painters.
The important Flemish family of Early Netherlandish painters with the surname van Eyck originated in Maaseik, but ultimately established their professional domicile in Ghent and in Bruges. There they changed the traditional habits of the earlier schools, remodeled the earlier forms of Flemish design, and introduced a substantial revolution into the technical methods of execution familiar to their countrymen. These painters were responsible for many famous works of the 15th century.
Family members included: Hubert van Eyck (1380s – 1426), Jan van Eyck (c.1390 – 1441), their brother Lambert van Eyck, and sister Margareta van Eyck, Jan's wife, also Margaretha (1405/06 – aft.1441), and probably Barthélemy d'Eyck (c.1420 – aft.1470) from the next generation. Jan van Eyck, active in Bruges, is probably the best known Northern European painter of the 15th century.