Surname Pyche - Meaning and Origin

Pyche: What does the surname Pyche mean?

The last name Pyche is thought to be of French origin and may be derived from the Old French word picher, meaning “to pick”, referring to a person who picked or chose something. It may also be related to the Old German word pfecha, meaning “pitching hook” and by extension “potter”, referring to a person who made pottery or clay vessels.

The surname Pyche can be found in records dating back to the 13th century in Normandy, France. At this time, it was most commonly found in northwestern France, particularly in the provinces of Caen and Le Mans. Variants of the name include Piche, Picheau and Pyck.

The first known recorded bearer of the surname Pyche was Hugues Pyche, a chambellan, or chamberlain, to King John II of France, in 1326. He is descended from members of the ancient Falaise family of which he was a cadet branch.

Today, Pyche is not an especially common last name. It can still be found mostly in France, though many bearers have emigrated to other European countries and the United States. Pyche is also found in Canada, with a handful of bearers living in the province of Quebec.

Pyche: Where does the name Pyche come from?

The surname Pyche or Piche is not particularly common today. It is, however, found in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, and Poland.

In the United States, there are a relatively small number of families with the surname Pyche living in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

In Canada, there are small numbers of families with this surname living in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.

In the United Kingdom, there are fewer than 100 families with the surname Piche.

In Germany, there are a handful of families with the surname Piche living in all of the country’s states.

In France, there are approximately 100 families with this surname, who are mostly concentrated in the regions of Alsace and Lorraine.

The surname Pyche is not found very frequently in Poland, but there are people with the Pyche surname living in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and the Masovian Voivodeship.

Overall, the surname Pyche is not particularly common today, but there are people with this surname living in various countries, although they are mostly concentrated in a few regions.

Variations of the surname Pyche

Pyche is a rare surname derived from the early medieval English name 'Piche'. One variant spelling is Picche, while Pyke and Pykes were used in the past as surnames of the same origin.

The surname Picche can be traced back more than a 1000 years, to the 11th century when it appeared as a personal name. In 1101, Picche appears as the forename of a man who became Archdeacon of Canterbury.

Other records in England from about the same time include another Picche as canon of St. Paul's in London and in 1127, Herbert Pyches was mentioned in the Cartulary of Westminster Abbey as a benefactor.

The surname Picche is the most common form used today for the surname. Variants include Pyche, Pyke, and Pykes. The spelling Pyke is probably of Anglo-Scottish origin and the variant spelling Pykes is an Anglicised form of Phentes, a Middle English personal name found in documents of the period.

The surname Picche is quite uncommon today; there were only 462 records of the name registered in England and Wales in the year 2018.

In Scotland, the surname Pyches appears more often; there were 1,302 records of the name registered in the year 2018. Most of these were in Dunbarton and Haddington, while there were also several records in Glasgow and Fife.

The surname Pyches also exists in other parts of the world, including America, Australia and Canada. In America, the surname was most common in the states of Michigan, Ohio, and New York. In Australia, there were several records of the name in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. In Canada, the surname was found in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Famous people with the name Pyche

• Thomas Pickering Pyche (1733-1795), English magistrate and antiquary.
• William Pyche (ca. 1605-1660), English Puritan minister.
• Joseph Pyche (1732-1786), English Minister for St. James' Church, Bath.
• Thomas Pyche (1768-1846), English Secretary to the County Committee of Gloucestershire and Somerset.
• John Pyche (1619-1695), English barrister and register of the Exchequer.
• Alexandre Pyche (1818-1882), French painter.
• John Pyche (1820-1890), English Vicar of South Petherton in Somerset.
• Arthur I. Pyche (b.1883), American musicologist and composer.
• John Pyche (1520-1609), English Member of Parliament for Hereford in 1559.
• Ann Pyche (1924-2013), English-born Canadian politician, teacher and trade union organizer.

Other surnames

Pych