Contents [hide]

McPike History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

McPike History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

McPike is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The McPike family lived in Staffordshire. The surname of Peak derives from the Old English word pekke, indicating the top of a mountain or hill, and was a local name distinguishing a person who lived by a prominent peak. 1

Early Origins of the McPike family

The surname McPike was first found in Suffolk where Uluric Pec was listed at Bury St Edmunds c. 1095, nine years after the Domesday Book of 1086. Oxfordshire is the next entry: Richard de Pec who was listed at Eynsham in 1192. 2

As noted, most sources point to Staffordshire as to where the family hails. Staffordshire was where "among the earliest known bearers of the name are Richard del Pech or del Pek (d. 1196), son of Ranulf, Sheriff of Nottingham, and Willielmus Piec, who was in Winchester in 1194." 3 "The Peakes of Staffordshire were represented in Shropshire in the 13th century by the Piks and Pickes." 4

And two sources note Derbyshire, where the name was derived from "a pointed hill, as the Peak in Derbyshire" 5 and "one who came from Peak (hill), in Derbyshire." 6 "The Peak District, Derbyshire, is referred to as Peac lond in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 924." 7

"The Peakes of Llewenny, co. Denbigh, have been seated there apparently from the XIV. century, and there is little doubt of their extraction from Thomas del Peke, to whom Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, about the year 1284, granted a burgage, &c., within the walls of Denbigh. As Llewennie was included within De Lacy's barony, it seems probable that it was granted at the same period. The family went into Wales in 1283, with King Edward I., doubtless as feudatories of the De Lacys. Harl. M.S. 1933. See B.L.G. The etymology of the name is the same as that of Peak." 5

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. William de Peke was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296 and William atte Peke was listed in Devon in 1321. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 lists: Isabell del Pek; and Martyn del Pek. 1

Early History of the McPike family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McPike research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1283, 1284, 1551, 1592, 1619, 1667 and 1668 are included under the topic Early McPike History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McPike Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the McPike family name include MacPeake, Peak, Peake and others.

Early Notables of the McPike family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir William Peake of Achurch; Robert Peake the Elder (c. 1551-1619), an English painter; and Sir Robert Peake (ca. 1592-1667), English print-seller and Royalist, he was exiled for refusing...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McPike Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McPike family to Ireland

Some of the McPike family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McPike migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the McPike family to immigrate North America:

McPike Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alice McPike, aged 18, who landed in America, in 1892

McPike Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Jacob H. McPike, aged 55, who immigrated to the United States, in 1907
John M. McPike, aged 27, who immigrated to America from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1907
John McPike, aged 28, who landed in America from Partick, Scotland, in 1909
Bridget McPike, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Dromore, Ireland, in 1911
Catherine McPike, aged 22, who settled in America from Drumquin, Ireland, in 1911

McPike migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McPike Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Ann McPike, aged 20, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Robert Burns" in 1834

McPike 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:

McPike Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John James Mcpike, (b. 1798), aged 49, Irish , settler born in County Derry, Ireland arriving as 1st detachment of Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 8
Mrs. Mary Mcpike née Dunn, (b. 1798), aged 49, Irish , settler born in Antrim, Ireland travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 8
Mr. John Mcpike, (b. 1820), aged 27, Irish , settler born in County Derry, Ireland travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 8
Mr. Cornelius Mcpike, (b. 1826), aged 21, Irish , settler born in Belfast, Ireland travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 8
Mr. James Mcpike, (b. 1828), aged 19, Irish , settler born in Belfast, Ireland travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McPike (post 1700) +

Henry Guest McPike (1825-1910), American businessman who had McPike Mansion, or Mount Lookout built in 1869 featured on the series Scariest Places on Earth and on Season 1, Episode 7 of Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files; apparently the mansion is haunted by the ghost of a former owner and a former domestic servant
Jeremy Scott McPike (b. 1975), American politician, Member of the Virginia Senate (2016-)
Erin Kathleen McPike (b. 1983), American communications director, known for her work with CNN, NBC News, National Journal, and RealClearPolitics
Milton McPike (1939-2008), American educator and San Francisco 49ers player
Joann McPike, New Zealand travel photographer and the founder of Think Global School, an independent high school that travels the world

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html