Origin of the Name Dyer
The origin of the name
Dyer was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Dyer
include Dyster and Dire. This is an occupational name meaning 'the dyer', from a person with this trade. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in the above country. Examples of such are a John Dyar, County Somerset, who was recorded in 'Kirby's Quest for Somerset', in which is contained the Exchequer Lay Subsidy for the Somerset Record Society, 1889 and a John le Dyere, County Oxfordshire, was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', in the year 1273.
Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by creating, maintaining and updating these reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.
In Ireland Dyer is often a form of MacDyer which in turn is derived from the Gaelic MacDuibhir Sept. This Sept name was also often anglicized as MacDwyer and as Diver in the North-West of the country, in County Donegal in particular.
The Dyer coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Dyer descendants.