Pike History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  Scotland 
  Ireland 


The Anglo-Saxon name Pike comes from when its first bearer worked as a person who made or worked with a pickaxe as a agricultural or excavating tool. Occupational names frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames.

The name may have been Norman in origin as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists Radulphus and Ibert Pikes in Normandy (1180-1195.) 1

Early Origins of the Pike family

The surname Pike was first found in Devon where one of the first records of the family was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, namely Alunic, Alwinius Pic. 2 A few years later, Hugo Pik was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1177 and Robert le Pic was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire in 1191. Henry Picke was listed in Assize Rolls or Worcestershire in 1221. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Walter Pik in Huntingdonshire and Richard Pik in Wiltshire. 4

Of note was John Pike, Pik or Pyke (fl. 1322), an English chronicler, master of the schools of St. Martin-le-Grand, London. 5

Early History of the Pike family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pike research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1616, 1625, 1635, 1653, 1692 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Pike History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pike Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Pike include Pike, Pyke and others.

Early Notables of the Pike family

Notables of the family at this time include

Pike World Ranking

In the United States, the name Pike is the 1,138th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 6 However, in Canada, the name Pike is ranked the 856th most popular surname with an estimated 6,228 people with that name. 7 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Pike is the 22nd popular surname with an estimated 747 people with that name. 8 Australia ranks Pike as 577th with 6,700 people. 9 New Zealand ranks Pike as 835th with 871 people. 10 The United Kingdom ranks Pike as 544th with 11,901 people. 11

Migration of the Pike family to Ireland

Some of the Pike family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Pike migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled 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 ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Pike or a variant listed above:

Pike Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Pike Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pike migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pike Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Pike migration to Australia +

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

Pike Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
Pike Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century

Pike 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:

Pike Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Pike 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. 24
Pike Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Pike (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Pike +
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