This is almost certainly a name of early French origins, and if so is occupational and derives from the word "peche" meaning a fish or "pechard", a fisherman or angler, or possibly a fish merchant. The famous International Genealogical Index lists the name in England as having the same origin as the Welsh surname "Pritchard", which is a Celtic combination name consisting of the elements "Ap" meaning son and Richard, the Anglo-Saxon personal name of the pre 8th century. It is true that amongst the lists of Pritchards in London area are a number with the spelling Prichard, such as Dorothy Prichard, a witness at the church of St Martins in the Field, Westminster, in 1615, some Perchard's, Peter Perchard marrying Dorothy Albin at St Brides church, Fleet Street, London, in 1700, and a few Prechard's, an example being Edward Prechard, who married Elizabeth Whittle at the church of St Ann's, Soho, Westminster, in 1801. Almost certainly the two latter examples are descendants of Huguenots, protestant French immigrants who came to England in the 16th and 17th century. Unfortunately early French records of proven reliability are rare, most were destroyed in the Revolution of 1789 - 1792, when the church was banned, and the revolutionaries took the opportunity to destroy the registers. From those that survived we have Nicholas Peche, of Civy-sur-Vezouse, Meurthe et Moselle, on August 10th 1796, and mmuch earlier Pierre Percheur, at Angers, Maine et Loire, on October 28th 1653.

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