PICKLE
Pickle is a surname of English origin, with several possible roots that have been preserved in historical records. The name is first documented in the Middle Ages, with early occurrences in Yorkshire in the late fifteenth century.
One line of evidence points to a topographical origin. The name derives from the Middle English words pightel or pighel, denoting a small enclosure, field or paddock. In this sense, a family living near such a feature would be identified by the surname Pickle. Variants of the name that appear in Yorkshire records include Pickles, Pickles, Pickless and Pighills. The marriage of Thomas Pickles and Sarah Tennard was recorded in Bingley on 28 January 1649, and a R. Pickles, a famine emigrant, departed Liverpool aboard the “New World” for New York on 7 June 1847.
Another suggested derivation comes from Old English. The pre‑seventeenth‑century word pic meant a point, peak or hill; the diminutive suffix -el produced picle, a small point or hill. This version of the name may also relate to the place called Peak in Derbyshire, and it indicates a settlement situated near a pointed hilltop. The earliest documented spelling noted in the “Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire” is that of Richard de Righkeleys in 1379, during the reign of King Richard I, illustrating the name’s medieval presence.
A further plausible origin is occupational. The surname could be a nickname for someone known for a sharp or pointed personality or appearance, derived from the Middle English word pikel, a small pointed tool. Relatedly, some records suggest a metonymic occupational meaning, identifying a maker or seller of pickles or someone who preserved vegetables, a practice linked to the Old English word picle, meaning to preserve. Consequently, the surname has also been associated with the preservation of foods and the trade of pickles.
In modern times, the name Pickle remains uncommon in the United Kingdom, with only 28 bearers recorded. In contrast, it is more common in the United States, where it ranks as the 732nd most common surname according to the Social Security Administration. The surname is most frequently found in Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, with the highest density of holders in Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee. Pittsburgh records the largest city concentration, with approximately 390 individuals carrying the name.
Although the surname has many recorded variants—such as Pickleman, Pickleson, Pickerin, Pickering and others—its core form remains consistently recognised across the contemporary statistics, reflecting its enduring, if modest, presence in English‑speaking societies.
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Pickle in...
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There are approximately 16 people named Pickle in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Fewer than one in a million people in Britain are named Pickle.
