My surname is Tait (identical pronunciation to Tate - tayte), and the story goes that my Malasian great grandfather, when sailing to Britain, took this name from a shipmate. Supposedly, he had some unpleasant reason to be changing it, and it's possible that he misspelt it (either intentionally or unintentionally). But perhaps it is actually an individual surname? I know that there is a company in Britain spelt in the same way, and I think they produce paper... though it might not be a family business.