Piper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Scotland 


The people known in ancient Scotland as the Picts were the forefathers of the Piper family. It is a name for a person who played the bagpipes. "Anciently the name of Pyper was very frequent in Perth, and very Considerable Persons are called by that name in the Charters of the Religious Houses. About the time of the Reformation, the principal Families of that name changed it for Balneaves." 1

Early Origins of the Piper family

The surname Piper was first found in at Innerbundy in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland.

However, the family is not exclusively Scottish. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Henry le Pipere, Oxfordshire; and Adam le Piper, Cambridgeshire.

Peter le Pipre, was listed in the Close Roll, 4 Edward I (during the fourth year of King Edward I's reign.)

"Whether this was the Peter Piper who originated the alliterative nursery rhyme, 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppercorns,' I cannot say." 2

In Somerset, John le Pipere, and were both listed there 1 Edward III. 3

Much farther to the south in the manor of Liskeard Coleshill was "vested in the Pypers, from whom it passed in marriage with a female heir to the Vyvyans." 4

Early History of the Piper family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Piper research. Another 303 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1457, 1546, 1547, 1562, 1565, 1567, 1596, 1609, 1610, 1667 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Piper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Piper Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Piper has been written Piper, Pyper and others.

Early Notables of the Piper family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Piper World Ranking

In the United States, the name Piper is the 1,298th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 5 However, in Australia, the name Piper is ranked the 821st most popular surname with an estimated 4,799 people with that name. 6 And in New Zealand, the name Piper is the 818th popular surname with an estimated 894 people with that name. 7 The United Kingdom ranks Piper as 837th with 8,073 people. 8


Piper migration to the United States +

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Piper:

Piper Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Piper Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Piper Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
Piper Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Piper migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Piper Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Piper Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Piper migration to Australia +

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

Piper Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Piper 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:

Piper Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Piper 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. 20
Piper Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Piper (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Piper +
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