This unusual and interesting name is a medieval nickname surname derived from "Pykerell" a young pike (the fish). This 12th Century surname was probably given to a person of fierce or ferocious attitudes perhaps a soldier or warrior. In the modern idiom the variants include Pickerell, Pickerill, Pickrell, and Pickrill. The earlier recording (before 1670) of the name tend to take the form Pickerell. One Elizabeth Pickerill, daughter of Francis and Ellen Picherill, was christened at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London in 1670, and one Basil Pickerell married Mary Hawkins at St. Nicholas, Cole Abbey, London in 1719. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Yuo Pikerell, which was dated 1199, in the "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.