Show ContentsPeard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The origins of the name Peard are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from person who was referred to as Peat. The surname Peard was originally derived from the Old English name "Peter." 1 2 Alternatively, the name could have been a nickname for a "delicate person, a pampered pet." 3 Another source presumes the name could have been "short for Peatman, a cutter of Peat." 4 And finally, one source believes the name could have been Norman in origin as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists Rickard and Tustin Peet in Normandy 1198. 5

Early Origins of the Peard family

The surname Peard was first found in Winchester where Ralph Peet was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1210-1211. Later in Worcestershire, we found Richard Peet in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 6

In Somerset, Richard de Peyt was recorded there 1 Edward III (in the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 7 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 includes an entry for John Pitte c. 1272. 5

Early History of the Peard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peard research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1485, 1513, 1563, 1570, 1589, 1593, 1610, 1630, 1647, 1652, 1672 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Peard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Peard Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Peard family name include Peat, Peate, Peart, Pert, Pett and others.

Early Notables of the Peard family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Peter Pett, (fl 1563), master-shipwright at Deptford. He was great-grandson of Thomas Pett of Skipton in Cumberland. "But Skipton is in Yorkshire, and, though some of his kin may have settled in the north, it is more probable that he belonged to the family of the name which early in the fifteenth century owned property at Pett in the parish of Stockbury in Kent. " 8 He was progenitor of the...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Peard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Peard family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Peard surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Joe and John Peat settled in Boston in 1635; Richard Peat settled in Virginia in 1754; Edward, and George Peat arrived in Philadelphia in 1878; Thomas Peart settled in Virginia in 1752.



The Peard Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ardens
Motto Translation: Fervent.


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  5. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  8. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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