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![Show Contents]() Peker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Peker was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the island in 1066. It is a name for a wool packer having derived from the Old English word packe. 1 Another source claims that the name was derived for a "person 'employed in barrelling or packing up herrings.' In London, the occupation of the 'packer-and-presser' is a well-known and lucrative one." 2 Early Origins of the Peker familyThe surname Peker was first found in Berkshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times where they were Lords of the manor of Bucklebury. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a census initiated by Duke William after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, this manor was held by a Norman noble, Hugolin the Steersman, and consisted of a mill and a church, and the church still has Norman carvings. Conjecturally the Packers descend from this noble. Not withstanding the Berkshire reference, the first record of the family was found in Bedfordshire. Walter le Packere was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Later, the Calendarium Rotulorum Chartarum listed Mathew le Packere. 1 Early History of the Peker familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peker research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1618, 1645, 1648, 1661, 1682 and 1686 are included under the topic Early Peker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Peker Spelling VariationsAnglo-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 Packere, Packer, Packers, Packar, Packars, Packare, Pacher and many more. Early Notables of the Peker familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was John Packer of Shellingford Manor, Berkshire, Clerk of the Privy Seal; and his son, Robert Packer (1614-1682), an English politician, Member of...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Peker Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Peker familyBecause 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 Peker name or one of its variants: Thomas Packer, who settled in Virginia in 1623; Mr. Packer and Elizabeth who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1638; Samuel Packer, who settled in Hingham Massachusetts in 1640.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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