The name Pecks reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Pecks family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pecks family lived in Denbighshire. The surname of Peck 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.
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Early Origins of the Pecks family
The surname Pecks was first found in Essex 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.
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Early History of the Pecks family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pecks research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1400, 1692 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Pecks History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Pecks Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Peck, Pecke and others.
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Early Notables of the Pecks family
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pecks Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Pecks family
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Pecks name or one of its variants: Richard Peck, his wife Jane and eight children settled in Halifax Nova Scotia in 1775; Robert Peck settled in Boston in 1638; Thomas Peck settled in Barbados in 1634.
England
