What is the ethnicity/meaning of the surname Pilchard???

Hi daufrose,

Ancestry.com Message Boards 
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/message/an/surnames.Pilchard/2.3.4.6.8.9.10

Author: Joan Brittingham  Date: 26 Nov 2000 10:11 AM GMT In Reply to:
PILCHARDS by: BEVERLY

"Hi Beverly, Yes, the Pilchards were in Maryland since early 1700's.
No one know exactly when they came over or from, suspicion is
England."

[edit]

"...there were a number of marriages between
the Pilchards and Brittinghams.

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And the Merrian-Webster Dictionary describes the meaning of the
surname Pilchard as a fish/sardine/herring family:

"One entry found for pilchard.
 
Main Entry: pil·chard 
Pronunciation: 'pil-ch&rd
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1530
1 : a fish (Sardina pilchardus) of the herring family resembling the
herring and occurring in great schools along the coasts of Europe
2 : any of several sardines related to the European pilchard"


Best regards,

tlspiegel

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Clarification of Answer by tlspiegel-ga on 03 Sep 2003 00:18 PDT

Hi daufrose,

I was having a bit of technical difficulty this afternoon while
researching your question.  But, I now have more information regarding
the Pilchard Family name.

If you go to the links provided you'll see Search Results of 93
matches for "Pilchard"

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?f=search&r=an&p=surnames.Pilchard&application=public&query=Pilchard&filter=

And the Pilchard Family Board

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?f=search&r=an&p=surnames.Pilchard&application=public&query=Pilchard&filter=surnames.Pilchard

Best regards,
tlspiegel