Frequency: (1933)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. French: habitational name from Pîtres in Eure.
2. French: variant of pestre, pistre, agent derivatives of Old French pestel ‘pestle’, hence a metonymic occupational name for an apothecary or grocer.
3. Italian (Pitrè): unexplained.
FOREBEARS: According to Canadian records, this surname is documented in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in the 17th century, being described as English. There are VT records of a certain “Lajambe, also called Pitt or Pitre”. Another Pitre is recorded in the Montreal area in 1661, said to be of Dutch origin. In the mid-18th century, there are Acadians bearing this name from the Belgian province of Hainault.
GIVEN NAMES: French 7%. Raoul (4), Emile (3), Armand (2), Monique (2), Alcid, Amedee, Anatole, Andrus, Aubert, Camille, Cecile, Clovis.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
