Dei

This interesting name derives from "Dye", itself a pet form of the Medieval English female given name Dionisia, from the Greek Dionysia (feminine) or Dionysios (masculine) meaning "the Divine One of Nysa", (a holy mountain in modern Afghanistan). Dye (without surname) is first recorded in the 1301 "Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire". The surname from this source also appears in the early half of the 14th Century, (see below). Variant forms Dy and Dei are recorded in the 1379 "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire". The surname is particularly well recorded in London Church Registers from the mid 16th Century. On March 25th 1563, Elizabeth Dye, an infant, was christened in St. Andrew's, Enfield, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Dye, witness, which was dated 1316, in the "The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield" Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.