Peake
An English surname for someone who lived by a pointed hill or peak.
The #6,594 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,102 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Peake comes from an old English word for a point, spike, or pointed hill. In medieval records it appears in forms like del Peke, meaning “at the peak” or “by the hilltop.” The surname was later also used with reference to places such as the Peak District in Derbyshire.
History
The name is well attested in medieval England, especially in northern records. One early bearer, Martyn del Pek, appears in Yorkshire records in the 14th century. Lower also links the name with a family settled in Denbighshire, suggesting an early spread from England into Wales.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Peak District of Derbyshire is mentioned in Old English sources as early as 924, long before the surname became fixed.
From the historical record
“PEAK \ (Eng.) Dweller at a Pointed Hill PEAKE; [M.E. pec, pek; O.E. p^ac, a var. of p(c, a point, pike] Martyn del' Pek.— Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. The Peak District, Derbyshire, is re- ferred to as Pea£ land in the A.-Sax. Chronicle, A.D. 924.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)