Viljoen is a surname of French Huguenot origin in South Africa and all Viljoens are the descendants of François Villion, a free wagon maker who arrived as a Huguenot refugee at the Cape of Good Hope in October 1671 from Clermont, France. He married Cornelia Campenaar from Middelburg, Holland, in 1676 at the Cape of Good Hope. The couple settled on the farm Ida's Valley near Stellenbosch as freeburghers. François Villion came from Clermont, Terres Froides or Monestier-de-Clermont(Dauphine) in 1671. He had three sons and three daughters from his marriage with Cornelia Campenaar. The farm is north east of Stellenbosch and it was awarded in 1962(OSF I,49). Currently the farm is a residential area in Stellenbosch.
Some well known descendants include the following:
- Barend Viljoen (born 1908), South African military commander
- Ken Viljoen (1910-1974), South African cricketer and cricket manager
- Marais Viljoen (1915-2007), ceremonial State President of South Africa
- Gerrit Viljoen (born 1926), former South African government minister
- Constand Viljoen (born 1933), former South African military commander and politician
- Jurie Viljoen (born 1942), Namibian politician
- Lucas C Viljoen, (born 1943) pedagoque, pioneer of South Africa's parallel-medium schools
- Colin Viljoen (born 1948), South African born former English international footballer
- Harry Viljoen, (born 1959) Coached the South African rugby team from 2000 to 2002
- Irene van Dyk, née Viljoen (born 1972), South African and New Zealand international netballer
- Alwyn Viljoen, (born 1968) print and radio journalist
- Joggie Viljoen (born 1976), South African rugby union footballer
- Dirk Viljoen (born 1977), former cricketer
- Sunette Viljoen (born 1983), South African javelin thrower
- Christi Viljoen (born 1987), Namibian cricketer
- Lettie Viljoen, pseudonym of the South African author Ingrid Winterbach
- Nik Viljoen, New Zealand international football (soccer) player
- Jannie Viljoen(born 1971), SA Springbok Sprinter
- Andries C. Viljoen (born 1944), Homopathic Doctor
- Jan C. Louis Viljoen (born 1915), Train Station Master
- Hardus Viljoen (born 1989), South African Domestic Cricketer
The family is spread over the world: Africa, Europe, North America and Australasia.
The surname means "villager" or "from the village", as can be found in town names ending in -ville.