Recorded in a number of forms including Peacham, Peachman, Peckham, Peckman, Peachmant, Peachment, Peachmeat, and possibly others, this is an English surname. Its origin is open to conjecture. It may be locational from Peckham, a former village in the diocese of Greater London, or it may be job descriptive. If so it seems to have no connection with selling or growing peaches, originating from the Older English "pekke," a word which describes a measure, usually of grain, a Peachman or Peckman being a maker or user of these measures. The surname is also found in Germany and is again job descriptive. although then for somebody who boils pitch! It has also been suggested that the name could derive from the pre 10th century word "pic" describing a hill dweller, but if so we have no collaborative evidence. The early recordings of the name include Hervicus Pecke of Suffolk in 1283, whilst later recordings in church registers include Henry Peachman, who married Ann Emmerson at St Benets Church, Pauls Wharf, city of London on November 26th 1636, and Elizabeth Peckman, who married Will Tillden at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on November 15th 1648. Other examples are Elizabeth Peachment who married William Loveday at Great Yarmouth on May 1st 1742, and Sarah Peacham, who was christened at St Dunstans, Stepney, on June 4th 1769. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Pecke, which was dated 1187, in the Curia Regis rolls of Hampshire. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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