Leyen

Leyen is a German-language surname and toponym. As a surname, it commonly appears in the form von der Leyen, a toponymic name indicating origin from a place associated with the element Leyen. The exact geographic origin of the surname varies by family and region, and there is no single definitive etymology widely cited in introductory references. In addition to being a family name, Leyen may also refer to places in German-speaking areas, where local histories and toponymic traditions give rise to such names.

Notable individuals with the surname include Ursula von der Leyen (born 1958), a German physician and politician who has served as president of the European Commission since 2019. She previously held several national government positions, including Federal Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019. Her prominence has made the Leyen name well known in contemporary European politics.

In discourse and reference works, Leyen may appear in various spellings or as part of longer names, such as von der Leyen. The lowercase form layen or dejaned variants are not used as separate terms in standard English-language references and are typically observed as typographical variants in non-English texts.

For readers seeking broader context, Leyen is related to other German toponymic surnames and to the geographic distribution of family names in German-speaking regions. See also Leyen (disambiguation) for related place names and other uses of the term.