This unusual name has two possible origins, the first being an occupational name for a goatherd, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "ticcen" meaning a "kid". The second distinct possibility is that the name derives from the German Thiess or Thais, short forms of the personal name Mathiess or Matthias from the Hebrew meaning "gift of God". Matthias was the name of the apostle chosen to succeed Judas Iscariot. The surname with variant spellings Tys(s)e, Tise and Tice is well recorded in London church registers from the mid 16th Century. On January 5th 1559 John Tyse, an infant was christened in St. Mary Magdalene, Bermonotsey. William Tise was christened in St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney on August 2nd 1564 and the marriage of John Tice to Marye Wad on February 22nd 1575 in St. Katherine by the Tower. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Tyce, (christening), which was dated October 11th 1543, Christchurch, Greyfriars Newgate, London, during the reign of King Henry V111, "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.