Peek
A surname usually traced to Peak, meaning someone who lived by a hilltop or peak.
The #3,263 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,910 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Peek is generally treated as a spelling variant of Peak and Peake. The name likely comes from the Old English word for a pointed hill or peak, so it originally described someone who lived near a hilltop or elevated place. Some older surname books also connect related forms to residence by a fortified house or 'peel,' but for Peek the Peak derivation is the standard explanation.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries commonly list Peek as a variant of Peak/Peake rather than a separate origin. The name is found in England and later in English-speaking countries such as the United States. Because spellings were not fixed for centuries, Peek, Peak, and Peake could all appear in the same family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname references often note that Peek and Peak were interchangeable spellings in historical records.
From the historical record
“PEEK \ PEEKEJ Peak(e, q.v. PEEL I (A.-Fr.-Lat.) i Dweller at a Forti- PEELE J fied Residence or Small Castle [Mig. pel, peill, pe(e)le; O.Fr. pel, Lat.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)