Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.
PEABODY
As described in historical dictionaries
An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857)
There is an ancient tradition (we give it for what it is worth), that this name was derived from one Boadie, a kinsman of Queen Boadicea, who assisted her in her revolt against the Romans. After the Britons were subdued by the Romans, Queen Boadicea dispatched herself by poison, and Boadie, with a remnant of the Britons, escaped to the mountains of Wales. Boadie, among the Cambri or Britons, signified a man or a great man, and Pea signified a large hill, a mountain, from which Boadie came to be called Peabodie, or the Mountain man, which became the name of the tribe.
Surname type: Nickname
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English