The first known ancestor is the knight Steven van Zulen, who early in the 13th century settled in Utrecht.

In the 17th century, Pieter-Frederic van Zuylen (1604–1691) was the first of the family to settle in the catholic southern parts of the Netherlands, nowadays Belgium..

He was an officer in the Spanish army and married Olympio Sindico and Gertrude van Voorst.

Genealogy of the last name bearers: Under the United of Kingdom of the Netherlands several children of Jean-Bernard asked for confirmation of their noble status and of their title of baron.

This was granted as follows: Of the eight sons of Jean-Bernard van Zuylen, only Jean-Jacques (who had thirteen children) has male descendants up to this day.