Dicus

Dicus is one of several spellings of a surname that has also been used to represent several apparently unrelated surnames. Other most common spellings of the surname Dicus with the same pronunciation as Dicus are Dycus and Dicas.

The Dicus family in the United States is mostly descended from William and Mary Dicas, who emigrated from Chester, England, near the border of Wales, to Chestertown, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a generation before the American Revolution. Three of their six children began the family's three major branches. John and his children moved into Pennsylvania and New York and then followed the Westward Expansion. James and his children moved across Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore and Ellicott City, Maryland, and many of their descendants remain in Maryland. Edward and his children moved to the Blue Ridge of Virginia and from there into the southern Appalachians and through the U.S. South. Dicus family etymology was a lifetime avocation of Rufus Dicus of Baltimore, who researched church records in the early to middle 1900s, and a cousin, Jacob Dicus 8th, has built on his work through extensive Internet research in recent years. The former thought the name might originally be Dutch, while the latter found a plausible Welsh derivation.

Etymology

Wales

The Welsh name Deicws was a pet form of David that has fallen out of common use. It has since evolved into a popular surname in Dodleston, Cheshire, England and Wales with the most popular spelling variations being Dicas, Dicus, and Dycus. The Welsh version of the name seems to have emerged several times with related or unrelated Welshman emigrating to England and America. One English example is Thomas Dicas, a prominent book seller in London, born about 1633 in Dodleston who subsequently emigrated to London as an apprentice.

An American example is one James ap Deicws (spelled using the Welsh patronymic system,) who was born about 1709 and emigrated to America in servitude. Upon arriving in America, his name became James Dicas, the name later evolving to Dicus. Deicws was usually changed to Dicus in the northern United States. and to Dycus in the southern United States.

The Netherlands

The Dutch name Dijk Huis, (Dykehouse) appears in the United States in the 1900s, and was also changed to Dicus and Dycus upon or after immigration.

Other antecedents

The surnames Dykes and DeCaus (DeCaux?) seem to have also evolved into Dicas, Dicus and Dycus in some instances.

Uses other than as a surname

Dicas is also a proper word in other languages including Latin, French, and Portuguese.