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The surname Van Hasselt means "of Hasselt", and it's of Dutch origin.

Hasselt is a place in the province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. But, there's also a place called Hasselt in the province of Limburg in Belgium. No matter if the surname is derived from the place in the Netherlands or Belgium, the language of origin is the same: Dutch. Because you see, centuries ago, Belgium was a part of the Netherlands, and that's why they nowadays still speak Dutch in a part of Belgium; Flanders.

However, little is known about the origins of botch cities of Hasselt. Its name comes from "Hasaluth", meaning "hazel wood".

By the way, it's ofcourse possible that your brother-in-law's family is originally from Austria, but the surname Van Hasselt is completely non-Austrian and a typical Dutch surname. I would say that some Austrian woman of your brother-in-law's family married a Dutch man with the surname Van Hasselt and remained living in Austria with him. Their descandants earned the Van Hasselt surname, and that's why it can be explained why a family with a Dutch surname can be from Austria.

Wow, that was quite a long message! ;)

I hope this information helps. :)

Regards,

Lucille