This unusual and interesting name is a variant of the surname Dye, which is of English origin, and which is a pet form of the medieval female given anme "Dionisia", which is derived from the Greek female name "Dionysia" or the male name "Dionysios". The personal name means "the Divine One of Nysa", which is a holy mountain in modern Afghanistan. The personal name is first recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire of 1301 as "Dye". The name development since 1316 (see below) includes the following: William Dyot (1348, Derbyshire), Robertus Diot (1379, Yorkshire) and Robert Diotte (1396, Yorkshire). The modern surname can be found as Dye, Dyet(t), Dyot(t), Dyte, Dyet and Dight. Among the sample recordings in London are the marriages of Hellen Dyte and Richard Typesley on February 1st 1567 at St. James's, Clerkenwell, and of Thomas Dyte and Marie Newman on January 30th 1641 at St. Pancras, Soper Lane. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Dye, which was dated 1316, in 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.