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Origins Available: |
| England |
The name Pycher arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a caulker, one who was employed to seal the hulls of ships with pitch. Another derivation of this name suggests that it originated as a variation on the Norman French personal name Pichere. Pycher is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently.
The surname Pycher was first found in Buckinghamshire 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pycher research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1066 is included under the topic Early Pycher History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Pitcher, Picher, Pichere and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Pycher Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World 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 stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Pycher or a variant listed above: Thomas Pitcher, who settled in Virginia in 1635; Andrew Pitcher, who came to Dorchester, MA in 1641; Mary Pitcher, who arrived in Virginia in 1650; John Pitcher who settled in Virginia in 1653.