Nook of Names

P is particularly rich hunting ground for surnames of Old English, Old Norse  and Anglo-French origin which haven’t seen much use as first names.

Here is Part 2 (Part 1 can be found here) — and there’s still more to come!

• Peckham — Beckham is on the rise, why not Peckham… alright, in the UK, it is probably terminally associated with Only Fools And Horses, but there must be other Peckhams around the world! The surname Peckham comes from the Peckham in London. Old English: *pēac “peak” + hām “homestead,” “village,” “estate,” “manor.”
• Pedley, Pedlow — Anglo-French pie de leu “wolf-foot.”
• Pedmer — from Pedmore, West Midlands. Old English personal name Pybba + mōr “moorland,” “marsh,” “barren upland.”
• Pelerin — a form of the surname Pilgrim, deriving ultimately from the same source as Peregrine.
• Pelham — from Pelham in Hertfordshire. Old English personal name *Peola + hām “homestead,” “village,” “estate,” “manor.”An aristocratic surname, borne by two prime ministers and associated with the Dukes of Newcastle.
• Pell — A medieval pet-form of Peter.
• Peller — Old English pæll, the name of a type of expensive purple cloth; Middle English pallere referred to a maker or seller of it.
• Pellew — Anglo-French: pel de leu “wolf-skin.”
• Penderel, Pendrell — French pendre “to hang” + oreille “ear.”
• Penley — from Penleigh, Wiltshire. Old English: penn “fold,” “enclosure” + lēah “wood,” “woodland clearing,” “glade,” “pasture” and “meadow.”
• Penn — from Old English penn “fold,” “enclosure” + lēah “wood,” or penn “hill” (from the Celtic pen “head”).
• Pennell — partly a variant of Parnell, partly from Penhill, Devon.
• Penner — from Middle English pennen “to impound,” the name of a manorial official who rounded up stray animals.
• Pentlow — from Pentlow, Essex. English personal name *Penta + hlāw.
• Penton — from Penton Mewsey, Hampshire. Old English pening “penny” + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Pepys — a form of the Old French personal name Pepin, popular in medieval times in honor of the Frankish king. It derived from the root bib- meaning “to tremble.” Samuel Pepys was a well-known seventeenth century English diarist.
• Perrers — from Perriers, near Rouen, which derives from Old French perrier “quarryman.”
• Perrin — A medieval pet-form of Peter, from the medieval variant Perre. There was also a feminine form, Perina.
• Pesson — Old French: poisson “fish.”
• Pessoner — Old French: poissonier “fisherman.”
• Petcher — Old French: pescheor “fisherman.”
• Pethard — Old French: peter “to break wind” + derogatory suffix -hard (well, I certainly know a number of men whom this name would suit to a tee!).
• Petley — from Petley Wood, Sussex. Old English personal name *Peota (a short form of names beginning with peoht “Pict”) + lēah “wood,” “woodland clearing,” “glade,” “pasture” and “meadow.”
• Peto, Peyto — from the region of Poitou, France. It takes its name from the city of Poitiers. This dates to Roman times, when the city was called Pictavium, after the local Pictones tribe. The name derives from the same source as the Picts, namely the Latin pictus  “painted.”
• Petrie — A medieval pet-form of Peter or Patrick.
• Petten, Petton — from one of the places called Petton. Old English personal name *Peatta + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Pettifer — Old French pied de fer “iron-foot.”
• Peverell, Peveril –  from Peverel an Old French personal name deriving ultimately from Latin Piperellus “little peppercorn” (a rather usable feminine form of this would be Piperella). Peveril of the Peak is a novel by Walter Scott, with Peveril referring to the Peveril family (namely, Geoffrey and Julian).
• Phare — a variant of Fare, from Old English fær “road,” and “track.”
• Pharo — a variant of Farrar.
• Philby — from Filby, Norfolk. Old English personal name *Fili + bý ‘farmstead’, ‘village’ and ‘settlement’. In the UK probably too tainted by the Soviet spy “Kim” Philby (1912-88), but probably inocuous enough elsewhere.
• Phythian — from a medieval form of Vivian.
• Picton — from Picton, Yorkshire. Old English personal name *Pica (see Pixton) + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Pilton –  from one of the places of the name. Old English pyll “stream” or personal name *Pileca + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Pim, Pimm, Pym, Pymm — from the Old English male name Pymma or medieval woman’s name Pimme, a pet-form of Euphemia.
• Pimley — from Pimley, Shropshire. Probably Celtic pimp “five” + lēah “wood,” “woodland clearing,” “glade,” “pasture” and “meadow.”
• Pinder — a variant of PENNER.
• Pinkney — from Picquigny, France. Did actually make the top 1000 a few times as a boy’s name in the late nineteenth century, but sank into obscurity in 1900… the town’s name was recorded in 942 as Pinquigniacum, and probably has Gaulish roots.
• Pinner — from Pinner, London. Old English pinn “point/peg(-shaped)” + ōra “river-bank.”
• Pipperell — variant of PEVERELL.
• Pitney — from Pitney, Somerset. Old English personal name *Peota (see Petley) + ēg “river.”
• Pixton — from the Old English personal name *Picstan, from pīc “point” + stān “stone.”

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