Dye
Usually a shortened form of a medieval baptismal name such as Dionisia, rather than a word for the color-changing craft.
The #1,246 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,955 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In surname dictionaries, Dye is commonly treated as a shortened form of a feminine given name, especially Dionisia, with related forms such as Dyet, Dyson, and Dyotson. The deeper name Dionisia goes back through Latin to Greek Dionysios, meaning roughly "of Dionysus," the wine god. Some older writers also connected it with the nickname Dye from the same baptismal family, rather than with the verb "dye" or the occupational term for a dyer.
History
Medieval records preserve forms such as Robertus Dy, showing that the surname was in use in England by the late 14th century. Bardsley treats it as part of a family of surnames built from Dionisia and its pet forms, especially in northern English records. It has sometimes been confused with occupational or craft-related words, but the surname explanation is the established one in the cited sources.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same name-family that produced Dye also helped generate surnames like Dyson and Dyatt in medieval England.
From the historical record
“(Fr. dSteindre), to take away the colour ; Lat. dis-, a privative + tingere, to dye] (Teut.) lor the O.Scand. pers. name Steinarr for Sleinharr, A.-Sax. Stdnhere =”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)