This is an early medieval Germanic job descriptive or occupational name for a master-craftsman. It derives from the word "Pech" which can mean "pitch" but in this context refers to a maker of wooden vessels such as beakers and goblets. "Meyer" derives from the Old High German "Meior" and refers to a head-man, or again in this context the owner of the business or the Chief of the wood Turners. There are several variant spellings of the name, unfortunately many records were lost in the second world war and the scope of the recordings is limited. The name examples and development include Julius Edward Peckmeyer, a witness at Gohfeld Oeynhausen, Westphalia on August 20th 1843, whilst earlier in Austria Joannes Pacmayr was recorded at Mariapparr, Salzburg on October 10th 1740. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jacobus Paeckmis, which was dated December 28th 1690, christened at Aldekerk, Rheinland, during the reign of Emperor Leopold 1 of the Holy Roman Empire, 1658 - 1705. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.