Pidcock

This name, with variant spellings Pydcock, Pithcock and Pitcock, derives from Pyd or Pid, short forms of the old English pre 7th Century personal name Pyd(d)a, plus the suffix "cock". Though not recorded independently this personal name is preserved in such placenames as Piddinghoe in Sussex and Piddington in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The latter place was recorded variously as Petintone (1086, Pydentona (circa 1160) and Pidinton (1187), and translates as "the tun (settlement) of Pydda's people". The suffix "cock" was always added to the nickname of the baptismal name, and it indicated the pertness of lusty and swaggering youth. On December 24th 1561 Constantyen Pidcock, an infant was christened in St. Vedast, Foster Lane, London and on January 19th 1794, Mary Ann Pitcock was christened in St. Leonards, Shoreditch. The christening of Charlotte, daughter of William Pidcock, took place in St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster on October 28th 1798. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomysin Pydcock, (christening), which was dated August 3rd 1560, St. Vedast, Foster Lane, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.