Contents [hide]

Pyke History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Pyke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Pyke is an Anglo-Saxon name. The name was originally given to 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 Pyke family

The surname Pyke 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 Pyke family

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

Pyke Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Pyke has appeared include Pike, Pyke and others.

Early Notables of the Pyke family

Notables of the family at this time include Robert Pike (1616-1706), English-born settler to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 from Wiltshire, an opponent of the Salem witchcraft prosecutions of 1692 and the persecution of the Quakers for which he was arraigned by the Massachusetts General Court in 1653.Richard Pike or Peake (fl. 1625), was an English adventurer from Tavistock, Devonshire who was taken prisoner in Caiz. Pike was sent to Xerez, and was brought before the Duke of Medina-Sidonia and other Spanish...
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pyke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Pyke family to Ireland

Some of the Pyke 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.

Pyke migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Pyke arrived in North America very early:

Pyke Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ann Pyke, who arrived in Maryland in 1638 6

Pyke Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Pyke, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 6
John Pyke, who settled in Maryland in 1737
Alicia Pyke and Elisha Pyke, who settled in Maryland in 1739

Pyke Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Pyke, aged 62, who landed in New York in 1812 6
George Pyke, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1857 6
Frank A Pyke, who landed in Colorado in 1886 6

Pyke migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pyke Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Luke Pyke, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1816

Pyke 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:

Pyke Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Pyke, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1863 7
Mr. George Pyke, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Gertrude" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th February 1863 8
Miss Mary A. Pyke, (b. 1848), aged 18, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 5th January 1867 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Pyke (post 1700) +

Hy Pyke (b. 1935), American character actor
Bernice S. Pyke, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from Ohio, 1920; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1928, 1932; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1941-51 9
Malcolm Pyke (1938-2020), English footballer who played as a wing half
Lionel Edward Pyke (1854-1899), English barrister
Geoffrey Pyke (1893-1948), English journalist, spy and inventor
Magnus Alfred Pyke (1908-1992), English scientist and media personality, Chairman, British Association for the Advancement of Science
David Alan Pyke CBE (1921-2001), English Physician, Diabetic Department, King's College Hospital, London, made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1986
Stuart Pyke, British sports journalist and broadcaster
Mike Anthony Patrick Pyke (b. 1984), Canadian rugby player
Margaret Pyke (1893-1966), campaigner for family planning
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Pyke family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Ernest Pyke (1887-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 10

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance