Pitchford
A locational surname from Pitchford in Shropshire, originally meaning “the ford by the pitchy pool or oil-well.”
The #8,206 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,347 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pitchford is a habitational surname taken from the place-name Pitchford in Shropshire. The name is usually explained as Old English pic, meaning “pitch” or a pitch-like oily substance, plus ford, “a river crossing.” In other words, it likely referred to a ford near a pitchy spring, pool, or seep. Medieval spellings such as Picheford and Picford support this local-place origin.
History
The surname was already linked in the medieval period with the Shropshire estate and parish of Pitchford, and early records show spellings like Picheford and Picford. Nineteenth-century surname writers treated Pitchford as a straightforward local surname from that place. Modern bearers in Britain and the United States reflect later migration from the original English locality.
Origin
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Fun fact
The same place-name has also been associated with the surname Pickford, showing how medieval spelling could shift quite freely.
From the historical record
“trial as William Pitcher. PITCHFORD r (Eng.) Bel. to Pitchford (Sal- PITCHFORTH J op), 13th cent. Picheford, also Picford \the place is said to owe the first element of its name to a pitchy oil-well there — O.E. pic, pitch + ford\ Cp. PIckford.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)