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Dyson History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Dyson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Dyson

What does the name Dyson mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Dyson comes from the medieval personal name Dennis. Dyson is a metronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. In this case, the surname comes from the first name of the mother, or of another female ancestor of the bearer. It was common for second sons to take the name of their mother as a surname in the Middle Ages. In general, where patronymic surnames were used, the first son adopted the given name of his father as a surname. This type of surname is the most common form of hereditary surname. The earliest origins of this family were found in the county of Worcestershire, where they had been settled prior to the Norman Conquest, in 1066.

Early Origins of the Dyson family

The surname Dyson was first found in London where Richard Dysun was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1274. Later, Ralph Dyson was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and John Dysone was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1327. John Dyesson was a Freeman of York in 1387. John, son of Dionysia de Langside is also called John Dyson de Langside in 1369. 1

"Dy or Dye, whence the patronymic Dyson. Almost all our Dysons hail from Yorkshire, where the font-name had a popularity second only to those of Matilda and Isabel. " 2

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Johannes Dison; Johannes Dison; and Dionisia uxor Thome Dison. 2

"Dyson is a name now numerous in the Huddersfield district [of West Yorkshire]. It was well established in the parish of Ecclesfield during the reign of Elizabeth I." 3

Early History of the Dyson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dyson research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1387, 1688, 1722, 1742, 1776, 1788, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1836 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Dyson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dyson Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Dyson has appeared include Dyson, Dison, Disson, Dysson and others.

Early Notables of the Dyson family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Jeremiah Dyson (1722-1776), English civil servant and politician who has been tersely described as ‘by birth a tailor, by education a dissenter, and from interest or vanity in his earlier years a repu...
Charles Dyson (1788-1860), professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, was the grandson of Jeremiah Dyson [q. v.], and the son of a clerk of the House of Commons. He was first sent to a private sch...

Dyson World Ranking

In the United States, the name Dyson is the 2,455^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 4 However, in Australia, the name Dyson is ranked the 771^st most popular surname with an estimated 5,055 people with that name. 5 And in the United Kingdom, the name Dyson is the 681^st popular surname with an estimated 9,721 people with that name. 6

Dyson migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Dyson arrived in North America very early:

Dyson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Dyson, who arrived in Maryland in 1679 7

Dyson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward Dyson who settled in Maryland in 1725
Philip Dyson, who landed in Virginia in 1746 7
William Dyson, who settled in New England in 1756
John Dyson, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1775 7

Dyson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Dyson, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1812 7
James Dyson, aged 26, who arrived in New Jersey in 1812 7
James Smith Dyson, aged 17, who landed in New York in 1812 7
Christopher Dyson, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1813
D Dyson, aged 18, who landed in New York, NY in 1821 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dyson Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Marmaduke Dyson, who arrived in Alabama in 1917 7

Dyson migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dyson Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

C E C Dyson, who landed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Dyson migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dyson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Dyson, (b. 1782), aged 49, English gardener who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1832 8
Mr. Charles Dyson, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Charles Dyson, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Thomas Dyson, English convict who was convicted in Leeds, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. George Dyson, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Lancashire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dyson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dyson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charlotte Dyson, aged 16, a servant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
Eliza Dyson, aged 3, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arab" in 1841
G. Dyson, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ambrosine" in 1858 13
Mr. Richard W. Dyson, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Evening Star" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand in 1858 13
Mrs. Mary Dyson, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Evening Star" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand in 1858 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dyson (post 1700) +

Sir James Dyson (b. 1947), British Industrial designer best known as the inventor of the "Dual Cyclone", a revolutionary design for vacuum cleaners that garnered him the "Industrial Design Prize of America, Designer of the Decade", the "European Design Prize", the "Prince Philip's Designers' Prize" and numerous others including a Knighthood
Freeman Dyson (1923-2020), English-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, eponym of the Dyson sphere and co-winner of the 1981 Wolf Prize for Physics
Michael Dywane Jackson Dyson (1969-2017), American professional football player and politician, Mayor of Tangipahoa, Louisiana, from 2009 through 2012
George Dyson (b. 1953), American non-fiction author and historian
Esther Dyson (b. 1951), Swiss-born, American former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst, daughter of Freeman Dyson
Rob Dyson (b. 1946), retired American sports car racing driver and current team owner
Chris Dyson (b. 1978), American racing driver who competes in the American Le Mans Series for Dyson Racing, son of Rob Dyson
Rear Admiral Charles Wilson Dyson (1861-1930), American naval officer and engineer, awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal
Andre Dyson (b. 1979), former American football cornerback
Tracy Caldwell Dyson PH.D. (b. 1969), American NASA Astronaut with over 305 hours in space
... (Another 28 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html