Thijs as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Thijs

What is the meaning of the name Thijs ?

The baby name Thijs is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced Dutch: /tɛis/ (approx. 'TICE').

Thijs is Dutch in Origin.

Thijs is a Dutch short form of Matthijs, the Dutch equivalent of Matthias, from Hebrew Matityahu meaning “gift of Yahweh,” often rendered “gift of God.” In Dutch, the ij digraph sounds like the English eye, so Thijs rhymes with “ice” (similar to Tice). Used as a familiar byname in the medieval Low Countries, it later became an independent given name and has enjoyed strong popularity in the Netherlands and Flanders since the late 20th century.

Common variants include Tijs (without h) and the older Thys; longer forms are Matthijs and Mathijs. Related cognates across languages are Matthias, Matthew, Matteo, Mathieu, Mateusz, Mattias, Matías/Matias, Matheus, and Matej, all sharing the same Hebrew root and meaning. The presence of th reflects historic spelling conventions rather than pronunciation, and many modern parents prefer the streamlined Tijs.