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Pye History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Pye History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the name Pye was recognized on the island as a name for a talkative or thieving person. Such a person was so named for a fancied resemblance to the magpie, a common bird in England at the time that was known for such characteristics.

Early Origins of the Pye family

The surname Pye was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Pye family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pye research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1177, 1273, 1296, 1332, 1524, 1560, 1571, 1585, 1586, 1607, 1610, 1620, 1626, 1635, 1651, 1661, 1662, 1673, 1689, 1696, 1697, 1701, 1721, 1724 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Pye History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pye Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Pye, Pie, Pyman, Piemakere, Pies and others.

Early Notables of the Pye family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Pye (1560-1610), English divine, son of Richard Pye of Darlaston, Staffordshire, rector of Earnley-with-Almodington, Sussex, and canon of Chichester in 1586
Sir Robert Pye (1585-1662) was an English courtier, administrator and politician, Auditor of the Receipt of the Exchequer in 1620
Sir Walter Pye (1571-1635), Member of Parliament for Brecon from 1620-1626
Sir Edmund Pye, 1st Baronet (c 1607-1673), an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1673
Sir John Pye, 1st Baronet (1626-1697)
Sir Charles Pye, 2nd Baronet (1651-1721)
Sir Richard Pye, 3rd Baronet (1689-1724)

Pye Ranking

In the United States, the name Pye is the 8,796^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Pye is ranked the 535^th most popular surname with an estimated 86 people with that name. 2

Pye migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Pye or a variant listed above:

Pye Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Pye, who settled in Virginia in 1649
Elizabeth Pye, who arrived in Virginia in 1651
Joseph Pye, who landed in Virginia in 1652 3
Elizabeth Pye, who landed in Virginia in 1656 3
Nicholas Pye, who settled in Virginia in 1663
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pye Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Booth Pye, who settled in Maryland in 1771
John Pye, who settled in Philadelphia in 1774

Pye Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Pye, aged 62, who landed in New York in 1812 3
William Pye, aged 32, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
John Pye, aged 38, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
David Pye, who settled in New York in 1826
Edward Henry Pye, who arrived in Maryland in 1826
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pye migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pye Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Elisha Pye, who settled in Carbonear, Newfoundland in 1799 4

Pye migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Pye Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Pye, British convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Isaac Pye who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 24th March 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Henry Pye, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for life, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Henry Pye, (b. 1794), aged 37, English ploughman who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. John Pye, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pye 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:

Pye Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Thomas Pye, (b. 1829), aged 21, British agricultural labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "Randolph" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand in September 1850 10
Mr. Daniel Pye, (b. 1836), aged 20, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 10
Mr. Bertan L Pye, (b. 1857), aged 11 months, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Roehampton" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 7th March 1858 10
Mrs. Mary Ann Pye, (b. 1820), aged 37, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Roehampton" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 7th March 1858 10
Mr. Thomas Pye, (b. 1825), aged 32, British smith travelling from London aboard the ship "Roehampton" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 7th March 1858 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pye migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Pye Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Edward Pye and his servants, who arrived in Barbados in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Pye (post 1700) +

Brad Pye Jr. (1929-2020), American sports journalist and broadcaster in Los Angeles, California
Vice Admiral William Satterlee Pye (1880-1959), American naval officer, recipient of the Navy Cross
David Pye, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Orange County, 1780-81, 1794-96; Member of New York State Senate Middle District, 1790-94 12
Jack Pye (b. 1903), known as Dirty Jack Pye, Filthy Jack Pye and The Doncaster Panther, an English professional wrestler and actor
Jesse Pye (1919-1984), English footballer
Henry James Pye (1745-1813), English poet, Poet Laureate from 1790 until his death, the first poet laureate to receive a fixed salary of £27 instead of the historic tierce of Canary wine
Charles Pye VC (1820-1876), English Victoria Cross recipient
William George Pye (1869-1949), English founder the electronics company W.G.Pye & Co. in 1896
John Pye (1782-1874), English engraver, founder of modern landscape engraving
Patrick Pye (b. 1929), English sculptor, painter and stained glass artist
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Pye family +

HMS Royal Oak

Philip Kitchener Pye (1918-1939), British Stoker 2nd Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 13

RMS Lusitania

Mrs. Charlotte Pye, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking by escaping in a collapsible 14
Miss Marjorie Pye, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking and was recovered 14

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/