Pittock

Recorded in many forms, this is an English medieval surname. It derives from the name "Petercock," itself one of the many early forms of the personal name Peter. The great popularity of "Peter" as a given name throughout Christian Europe is evidenced by the wide variety and proliferation of diminutive and patronymic forms that the original name has generated. The derivation is from the Ancient Greek word "petros" meaning a rock or stone, and was the name bestowed by Christ on the apostle Simon bar Jonah with the words "Thou art Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church". The modern surname is recorded as Piddock, Piddocke, Piddick, Puddick, as well as Pittock, Pettock, Pettick and possibly others. The suffix "cock" is Olde English and means "son of." Early examples of recordings in surviving church registers of Greater London include Susanna Pidduck, christened at St. Bartholomew the Great on June 30th 1639, and Gilbert Piddock christened at St Clement Danes, on August 18th 1688. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert Pittock or Pittcock. This was dated 1273, in the Hundred Rolls of the landowners of Cambridgeshire, during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.