This very unusual and interesting name is of early medieval origin and derives from the Anglo-Norman French word "Pivre", meaning "pepper", used as a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in pepper, a pepperer or spicer. The English name is "Pepper" or "Peppar", derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "Piper", or "Pipor", from the Latin "Piper", Middle English "Peper". The surname may also have been as a nickname for a small man or for one with a fiery, peppery temper. In some cases, the name may be anecdotal in origin, for someone who paid a peppercorn rent. The modern surname can be found as "Peevera(s)", "Peever" and "Pevie". Alles Pevie was married to Rogger Heanes on the 25th November, 1617 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Peivre, which was dated 1198, The Fines Court Records of Essex, during the reign of King Richard 1, The Lionheart, 1189 - 1199. 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.

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