The last name of the co-founder who gave the brand its name is Dickie.
Dickies traces its roots to C. N. Williamson and E. E. “Colonel” Dickie, cousins who worked together in Texas before entering the workwear business. In 1918, they helped establish the U.S. Overall Company in Fort Worth. When the partners consolidated ownership in 1922, the business became Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, while “Dickies” became its best-known brand name.
The name is sometimes written or misremembered as “Dickey,” especially because that spelling appears in other surnames and businesses. Dickies’ co-founder is conventionally identified as E. E. “Colonel” Dickie, making “Dickie” the fair canonical answer.
The company began with practical garments such as denim bib overalls for ranchers, farmhands, and other workers in the American Southwest. Its workwear later became popular far beyond job sites, particularly through skateboarding, hip-hop, and streetwear culture.