Show ContentsPikly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Pikly is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the town of Bickleigh in the county of Devon. This place-name is derived from the Anglo Saxon personal name Bicca meaning pickaxe, and the Old English word leigh, meaning wooded area.

Early Origins of the Pikly family

The surname Pikly was first found in Devon, at Bickleigh, a parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Hayridge, 4 miles from Tiverton. 1 Bickleigh is also a parish, in the union of Plympton St. Mary, hundred of Roborough in Devon. 2

Bickley is a township, in the parish of Malpas, union of Nantwich, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester. 3

Early History of the Pikly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pikly research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1415, 1426, 1518, 1529, 1569, 1582, 1585, 1586, 1596, 1623, 1644, 1661, 1667, 1670, 1681, 1687, 1746 and 1754 are included under the topic Early Pikly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pikly 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 Pikly family name include Bickley, Bickle, Bickler, Bickleigh, Bigley, Bigly, Biglay and many more.

Early Notables of the Pikly family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Bickley, Member of the Parliament for Huntingdon in 1415 and 1426; John Bickley, Member of the Parliament for Stafford in 1529; Sir Francis Bickley, 1st Baronet (c. 1582-1670); Sir Francis Bickley, 2nd Baronet (c. 1623-1681); Sir Francis Bickley, 3rd Baronet (1644-1687); and Sir Francis Bickley, 4th...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pikly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Pikly family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Pikly surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Sarah Bickley who settled in Maryland in 1740; Philip Bickler arrived in Philadelphia in 1744; Adam Bickle arrived in Pennsylvania in 1751 with wife and children.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.


Houseofnames.com on Facebook