Pilcher
An occupational surname for a maker or seller of pilches, medieval fur garments.
The #6,329 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,271 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pilcher comes from Middle English pilche or pylche, the name for a fur garment or skin coat. That word is generally taken from Old English pylce/pylce and ultimately from Latin pellicea, meaning something made of skin or hide. The surname therefore originally meant a pilch-maker or pilch-dealer.
History
The name is recorded in older English sources as an occupational byname, and both Bardsley and Lower explain it in connection with medieval fur clothing. It survived as a hereditary surname after the occupation itself became obsolete. Modern bearers are most common in English-speaking countries, especially the United States and Britain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In medieval usage, a pilch was a fur-lined or skin garment, not a fish — so Pilcher is linked to clothing, not pilchards.
From the historical record
“PIUCH, meton. for a pilch-maker : v Pilcher. PILCHER (A.-Lat.) Pilch Maker or Dealer \M.E.pilchei'e,pylchere;, f. M.E.pilche, pylche, a fur garment ; O.E.pyl(e)ce, Lat. pellicea] , PILDITCH (Eng.) Dweller at a Pooi-DiTCH [Dial. E. pill, a weak fotm of O.E. pul, a pool ; O.E. die, a ditch, dike] PILE (A.-Lat.)…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)