Deys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Deys surname seems to have come from a few sources: it was an occupational name for a dairy maid in some parts of England and Scotland; it was a derivation from David; and in some cases the name came from the word eye (d'eye). The same source claims that name was could have been an occupational name as in 'the deye' or 'day,' a maid, a dairy-maid. 1 Over in Normandy pre-Conquest times, we found "St. John de Day, near St. Lo, in the Cotentin [Peninsula.] " 2 This peninsula is now known as Cherbourg Peninsula.

Early Origins of the Deys family

The surname Deys was first found in Somerset where one of the first records of the name was Leofgife oa Dagean c. 1055. Godiua Daia was listed c. 1095 in Suffolk and Aluric Dai was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Buckinghamshire in 1196. A few years later, Ralph Deie was among those listed in the Register of the Freemen of Leicester in 1211. 3

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list the following: Willelmus Dey; Ricardus Dey; and Thomas le Dey. 1

Early History of the Deys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deys research. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1269, 1277, 1379, 1501, 1522, 1529, 1537, 1538, 1549, 1552, 1553, 1556, 1574, 1582, 1584, 1596, 1605, 1607, 1610, 1638, 1639, 1649, 1668, 1673, 1683, 1767 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Deys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deys Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Day, Dea, Dey, Daye, Deie and others.

Early Notables of the Deys family

Notables of this surname at this time include: William Day (1529-1596), an English clergyman, Provost of Eton College, Bishop of Winchester; George Day (ca.1501-1556), Bishop of Chichester, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University (1537-1538); John Day (1574-1638?), an English dramatist from Norfolk; and Francis Day (1605-1673), an English colonial administrator, associated with the East India Company.John Day (Daye) (c. 1522-1584), was an English Protestant printer. He was "one of the earliest of English musical typographers, began printing about 1549 in Holborn, a little above the Conduit. He afterwards dwelt 'over Aldersgate beneath Saint Martyns,' and subsequently had a shop in St. Paul's Churchyard...
Another 146 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Deys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Deys family to Ireland

Some of the Deys family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deys migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Deys Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Deys, aged 32, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1741 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Deys (post 1700) +

Sylvester R. Deys, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Kingston, New York, 1915-17 5

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html