The Dayne Name (Spoilers Extended)

While there is plenty of proof in TWOIAF/main series that the Daynes are descendants from the First Men, another small connection is in the type of name that "Dayne" is.

This ambiguous quite is often cited about the Dayne eye color, but I wanted to discuss a different part of the quote that is somewhat less discussed and that is the the ties to the First Men that the name "Dayne" could have.

GRRM: I would have to consult my notes to tell you the Dayne arms. Offhand I don't recall. As for the violet eyes . . . look, Elizabeth Taylor has violet eyes, and she's not of Valyrian descent (that I know). Nor is she related to Aegon the Conquerer. Many Swedes have blue eyes, but not all those with blue eyes are Swedes, and not all Swedes have blue eyes. The same confusions exist in the 7 Kingdoms.

Ran: So many banners, I was shooting in the dark. And I was actually arguing that she was a Liz Taylor type. Thanks. :)

George_RR_Martin: If you want to figure out a family's descent, the names are a better clue than the eyes. Stark. Reed. Flint. Tallhart (tall hart). SSM, Event Horizon Chat: 18 March 1999

If we look at northern names:

Even their house names mark them out, for the First Men bore names that were short and blunt and to the point; names like Stark, Wull, Umber, and Stout all stem from the days when the Andals had no influence on the North. -TWOIAF: The North

Other Quotes:

At the mouth of the Torrentine, House Dayne raised its castle on an island where that roaring, tumultuous river broadens to meet the sea. Legend says the first Dayne was led to the site when he followed the track of a falling star and there found a stone of magical powers. His descendants ruled over the western mountains for centuries thereafter as Kings of the Torrentine and Lords of Starfall. -TWOIAF: Dorne: Kingdoms of the First Men

and:

The Daynes of Starfall are one of the most ancient houses in the Seven Kingdoms, though their fame largely rests on their ancestral sword, called Dawn, and the men who wielded it. Its origins are lost to legend, but it seems likely that the Daynes have carried it for thousands of years. Those who have had the honor of examining it say it looks like no Valyrian steel they know, being pale as milkglass but in all other respects it seems to share the properties of Valyrian blades, being incredibly strong and sharp. -TWOIAF, Dorne: The Andals Arrive

and:

As she led the princess to the fire, Arianne found Ser Gerold behind her. "My House goes back ten thousand years, unto the dawn of days," he complained. "Why is it that my cousin is the only Dayne that anyone remembers?" -AFFC, The Queenmaker

Probably nothing

If you want to figure out a family's descent, the names are a better clue than the eyes. Stark. Reed. Flint. Tallhart (tall hart).

With this in mind, there is another house in Dorne with a somewhat similar name: House Jordayne of the Tor (which is homage to Robert Jordan and his publisher Tor)

While House Jordayne seems to claim descendants from the Andals, their name comes across as quite similar to "Dayne. So the potential exists that similar to House Dayne of High Hermitage or the Karhold Starks/Karstarks that the Tor Daynes somehow became Tordayne/Jordayne.

Note: We will likely get more information about this in TWOW (especially bc we should expect a family tree of House Dayne)

TLDR: The name "Dayne" itself is First Men in origin.