Meaning, Origin & Family History (2024)

The meaning of Pilcher

English (southeastern): occupational name for a maker or seller of pilches, from an agent derivative of Pilch. In early 17th-century English, pilcher was a popular term of abuse, being confused or punningly associated with the unrelated verb pilch ‘to steal’ and with the unrelated noun pilchard, a kind of fish.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Pilcher in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Pilcher has seen a shift in its popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the name dropped from 5978 in 2000 to 6329 in 2010, a change of -5.87%. However, the number of people carrying this surname slightly increased during this period, from 5302 to 5391 individuals, a rise of 1.68%. Despite this, the proportion of this surname among every 100,000 Americans fell by -7.11%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#5,978	#6,329	-5.87%
Count	5,302	5,391	1.68%
Proportion per 100k	1.97	1.83	-7.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pilcher

The ethnicity associated with the surname Pilcher also saw noticeable changes between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. While the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White (88.91% in 2000 and 87.39% in 2010), there were increases in every other ethnic identity. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 24.44%, and those identifying as belonging to two or more races saw an increase of 22.31%. The Hispanic population with this surname experienced a significant growth of 39.87%, and the Black population grew by 6.69%. Lastly, the population identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native increased by 5.88%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	88.91%	87.39%	-1.71%
Black	5.98%	6.38%	6.69%
Hispanic	1.58%	2.21%	39.87%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.87%	1.98%	5.88%
Two or More Races	1.21%	1.48%	22.31%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.45%	0.56%	24.44%

Pilcher ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Pilcher is British & Irish, which comprises 58.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (21.2%) and Scandinavian (3.6%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Eastern European, Nigerian, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN	COMPOSITION
British & Irish	58.7%
French & German	21.2%
Scandinavian	3.6%
Other	16.5%

Possible origins of the surname Pilcher

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Pilcher have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY Location	Percentage
Greater London, United Kingdom	89.90%
Merseyside, United Kingdom	89.90%
Lancashire, United Kingdom	89.90%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom	89.10%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom	89.10%

What Pilcher haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Pilcher is R-Z255, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-Z255 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L21 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Mobley, Gaston, Bolger, Kinsella, Deaton, Gatlin, Doyle, Roby, Redmond, Horgan.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Pilcher surname are: H1, U5b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

What do people with the surname Pilcher have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Pilcher" Surname 55.1%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Vanilla Ice Cream

Prefers vanilla flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Pilcher" Surname 28.6%

23andMe Users 36.7%

Like Very Cold Weather

Enjoys weather that is colder than 40 degrees Farenheit

"Pilcher" Surname 42.3%

23andMe Users 24.8%

Likes Sweets

Enjoys eating sweets more than other people.

"Pilcher" Surname 41.2%

23andMe Users 33.8%

Stawberry Ice Cream

Prefers strawberry flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Pilcher" Surname 12.2%

23andMe Users 14.7%